Today I found a notebook that has been dancing in and out of my life since the summer of 2007 when I bought it in an over priced paperie in London. You see, I had to have it. I needed a beautiful book with crisp pages to write down everything that was happening to me during my three month stay across the pond. Turns out, I used about 8 pages in jolly ole’ London. Since then, it has steadily collected my words on an irregular basis.
Today I picked up that notebook again, this time to make some notes about design and sketch out a few ideas, but I got easily sidetracked. It was as if I had stumbled upon a hidden chest of treasures. Only where a pirate would find gold coins, I found words.
Those pages about London at the front. Behind those, notes about my wedding plans; venue comparisons thoughts about colors, etc. Then a history lesson for a novel I had planned to write. Page after page of American history dated and mapped out. The beginning pages of that novel, with words that inspired me to write this post. Then, a journal entry about going through my divorce. A budget sheet with ideas of how to pay off my debt faster. A list of New Year’s resolutions. A gym schedule.Quite the fascinating road map to where I am today.
Isn’t it funny how looking back makes you look forward? It reminds you of dreams and redevelops passions. Reading through the different pieces that make up a notebook that has haphazardly followed my adult life, I couldn’t help but smile. No matter the troubles, there has always been triumph. No matter the pain, there has always been growth and strength.
So today I thought I would share a little excerpt from the novel I had hardly started. The words that have inspired me to take another stab at writing something worthy of a hardcover. I hope you like it!
Happily Ever Ashley 
I have been the same way with my journals. Writing is such a great escape and a way to document our lives.
This line is really cool, “I wanted the moment I saw her to last for as long as I had been without her.”
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it's nice to have something like that to look back on definitely! i wish i had kept a more consistent journal when i was younger too.
— jackiejade.blogspot.com
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