The Spiral Notebook

I am a thinker - not a deep thinker or anything, just a thoughts person - like a lot of thoughts, different and seemingly unrelated thoughts...that's my mind as I diaper children, feed children, bathe children...you get the idea. I enjoy thinking believe it or not. And, I love to contain my thoughts and organize them if for no other reason than to free up some space in my head.

The single most amazing tool I use to capture all my many thoughts is the spiral notebook. I slap a date on the top line or mid-page depending on the end of my last entry and away I go. By the day's end I have a mess of arrows, circles, bolded text and blurbs of important-for-the-moment thoughts that occurred during the course of my day. In time I've noticed themes emerge - proof that my mind isn't as random as it seems. My themes fall into pretty simple categories like homemaking, homeschooling, organization, creating/crafting, routines, God, the kids, memory keeping and memory making and, of course, my beloved B. I'm pretty passionate about most of what I blurb about in my notebook. I have my mind on these themes, or passions, and by keeping my mind on them day in and day out I'm continually developing in those areas - or at least I like to think I am! If I read a good book, I take notes about what stands out to me. If I have a good conversation with a friend I may write out a quote or two that struck my heart. The kids amaze me almost daily - and I write it down. At the end of a notebook I have a month or more of my life, from shopping lists to conversations with my four year old to review and consider. I can see what has remained important cover to cover and what has faded in value from one journal to the next.

So many people can't ever determine what they are really passionate about or what their life's calling is to be. I tend to believe our passions are very much wrapped up in who we are rather than what we do. Once we know who we are, the doing has a way of catching up. For instance, I knew before I had children that part of who I am has to do with mothering and being a wife. My family role was and is a large part of my personal identity, but that doesn't mean I automatically became a great multi-tasker or housekeeper overnight. With the deep seated knowledge that, "Hey, this is who I am" came many hours of thought and pouring over books as well as watching other mothers love their families. Then, the doings of motherhood started to take shape in my life. I knew who I was as a wife and mother before I was able to do all the stuff that goes with such a passion. I have a long way to go still, but I have come a long way as well. Lots of passions in life happen this way. The heart is very much there and fully alive but, the skills need to be nurtured and developed to truly live from the heart.

My greatest enjoyment in keeping my spiral notebooks is when I have time to weed out the distractions that filled my mind (the to-dos, the calls to make, the shopping lists) and highlight the themes that have become or always were passions of mine. The cheap, thin notebooks help me keep my perspective on what really matters in my life, and when we're nearly out of toilet paper. Amazing.