Hey Moms—can we talk journaling?
As in, the journal that you excitedly purchased after becoming a mother and swore you would write in diligently every day and record all of your precious child’s accomplishments?
Yup. That one.
You would think that as someone who enjoys writing, especially about motherhood and babies, and even occasionally gets paid to write about these topics, that I’d be excellent at keeping a journal.
NOT SO.
Not so…at all.
One of my goals during pregnancy was to keep a journal recording everything. And I did!
Well, mostly. It may have just been a bunch of entries that said “CAN’T TALK, VOMITING” and a few incomprehensible rants about being majorly pregnant in the summer with no air conditioning, but hey, it was something.
But my post-baby journal?
*crickets* *unintelligible screaming from toddler in background* *more crickets* *glass shattering as another one of my favorite items is ruthlessly destroyed by an insane 2 year old*
I’ve had two attempts at keeping a journal since becoming a mother.
Both have failed miserably.
My first attempt at a classic baby book and journal sat unused on the bookshelf for about two years, and then one day I discovered it had become my toddler’s new favorite coloring book.
Cool, cool.
Still empty to this day, by the way.
My second attempt at journaling went somewhat better.
I actually wrote in the damn thing, for starters, even if it was just once a month or so. But when I would re-read the entries, they just didn’t sit right with me.
I noticed a few problems:
1.) I tended to forget about the journal for months on end, and then write an entry crammed with every single milestone I had missed, making the journal seem like more of a weird spreadsheet of data entry,
and
2.) I found myself composing sentences like, “The past seven months have been soooo fun and wonderful and my amazing baby is just a radiant ball of light!” (This may or may not be an actual sentence taken from my journal. Eek.)
And that’s all well and good, and my child is indeed a radiant ball of light (…or something), but those seven months?
They were DEFINITELY not all full of fun and wonder. There were sleep regressions (oh god. The sleep regressions.) There was teething. There was the complete abandonment of wearing pants not made of lycra. And there were meltdowns. Oh lord, the meltdowns.
Maybe it’s the influence of social media, where we’re always presenting the best (and usually false) version of our lives to the public, and hiding all of the hard parts.
But I want to remember the hard parts. I think we NEED to remember the hard parts.
How lonely being a stay-at-home mom can be.
How I sometimes yearn for just a single moment alone.
How the newborn phase left me a dazed, anxious wreck.
How utterly infuriating it can be to be locked in a power struggle with a toddler who is insisting on wearing mittens in July. (Little tip for ya: you will never win a power struggle with an angry toddler. Do not even try. Let her wear the mittens.)
Because all of those hard parts?
They’re struggles that have humbled me and taught me patience, struggles that have shown me that I’m stronger than I ever knew, and struggles that taught me the importance of keeping a sense of humor about parenthood. (Seriously. It’s the only way to stay afloat.)
So basically I’m saying that I want to remember all of the wonderful, fun, silly parts, AND I want to remember the tough realities and the struggles of motherhood, and I want the perfect journal to do it all in.
Is that too much to ask?
Nope. It’s not.
Because friends.
I HAVE FOUND THE PERFECT JOURNAL THAT ALL MOMS NEED.
BEHOLD:
I Brushed My Hair Today: A Mom Journal for Mostly Together Moms
Can you hear me cheering right now? Cheering and also eating a bag of dark chocolate pretzels while in my lycra pants and also maybe crying a little bit? Because that’s what’s happening.
This ingenious journal comes to us from one of my favorite writers, Karen Johnson, aka The 21st Century SAHM.
She’s a mother of three and a writer who can make you burst out laughing one minute and then find yourself wiping a tear and nodding while saying things like, “Yes. YES. HOW DOES SHE KNOW?!” the next.
She’s the real deal.
See? Real deal.
What makes this journal so special (and fun!) is that it is designed specifically to remember all of the…unique, shall we say? moments that make up motherhood.
The good, the bad, the ugly. (POTTY TRAINING, I’M LOOKING AT YOU HERE.)
The prompts are perfect for blowing off steam when you’ve had one of those days when you text your husband at 3PM demanding that he pick up a cake on his way home from work so you can stress-eat it alone in the bathroom (…this is a normal and healthy thing to do, right??).
It’s full of on-point illustrations by Chelsea Larsson, who manages to perfectly capture the highs and lows of motherhood.
And if you need a break from writing because, oh, JUST SAY, bedtime took over two hours, 17 stories, and six requests for cheese and the only thing keeping you going is that cake you made your husband buy (third one this week! Hahaha please help), don’t stress.
You can just peruse the hilarious and oh-so-relatable quotes about motherhood from tons of funny moms, including Kristen Bell, Serena Williams, Gwen Stefani, and Chrissy Teigen.
I’m a bit confused why my own quote about motherhood “Holy shit what is going on and why don’t any of my pants fit?” didn’t make it in, but ah well. Next time.
So, where can YOU get this journal?
This journal is my new go-to gift for moms. New moms, old moms, hot mess moms, lukewarm mess moms, don’t care. You’re all getting one.
I Brushed My Hair Today: A Mom Journal for Mostly Together Moms is available on Amazon beginning August 6th, 2019, or you can place your pre-orders HERE, like I’m doing.*
(*Not an affiliate link)
And while you’re at it, be sure to check out The 21st Century SAHM on social media. You can find her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
You’re gonna love her, I swear.
And now, my friends, I have a few questions for you:
Do you journal? Have you tried and failed multiple times, like me, or do you have a system that works?
And how excited are you to complete the prompt: “What is something you thought would be easier, but is actually gut-wrenchingly, punch-you-in-the-face, make-you-want-to-day-drink hard?” (omg is “EVERYTHING” an appropriate answer for this?!?)
I want to hear from you!
