On this day in 2020

in

"Time are bad. Children no longer obey their parents and everyone is writing a book."

— Cicero, 43 BCE

Cicero (106 BC - 43BC) writing his letters, a woodcut of Marcus Tullius Cicero dating from 1547

When Daddy went to Vietnam in 1968, my parents were newlyweds. For the 366 days he was away, other than a brief honeymoon in Hawaii that August, my parents communicated only through letters. Mom sent Daddy a letter every single day. Even if it was just a few lines long, she sent something. Mom says they're all saved in a cedar chest in their house. 

I read something recently saying we should be keeping a paper journal during these historic and difficult times. I have tried, but I've found that despite my fetish for a beautifully bound journal with smooth paper, I suck at keeping paper records. 

Also, if you're anything like me, the days are all running together. Is it even still March? What was February even like, way back then? I'm here with the recommendation to use your smartphone to log the days. It doesn't have to be poetic. Just something to help you see your progress. Make a note of what you've done/learned/experienced/felt/eaten. 

I started doing this years ago. I'm not good at sitting down and writing out Jane Austen level prose about my life. But I can eke out a "Top 3" most days. For example, my Saturday entry was: 

  • Grocery shopped at Harris Teeter. Picked up fabric, saw Shilo, Matt, Cindy.

  • Setup Parallels again on the iMac

  • Started watching Schitts Creek - it’s ok. I love David, though.

  • Ian said he was “sad and hungry” tonight.

  • Looked at my MRI but it doesn’t mean anything to me.

Some of those could be several paragraphs on their own, but it feels overwhelming to write it all out. These are like post-it notes for your memory. It's been great, too, because if I'm trying to remember the progress of my knee, I can find the date I started taking bike rides, the days I slept for crap, the day I got an MRI, the day I stopped wearing a brace, etc. 

I use an app called Day One. It's available for iPhone, iPad, Mac OS, and Android. It's free to have a single journal or $35/year to have unlimited journals, syncing across devices, unlimited photos, voice to text transcription, end to end encryption, and secure cloud backup. Having it on my phone is part of the success rate for me. Keeping track of and securing a physical item is way too stressful for me.

We’re all doing all we can to reduce stress.