I first caught the journal *bug* in third grade, upon reading Ramona Quimby and Anastasia Krupnik's (pre-teen characters) private diaries, bursting with ever-so-quirky reflections of their surroundings. Their writing was kept hidden to the outside world, but became a personal outlet for the girls' innermost thoughts, dreams and outlandish schemes. This juvenile literature prompted my inspiration to record my own takes on life. I kept my diary under tight protection, as I felt was part of the ritual. One day, I became so fearful of someone reading my deepest notions without my consent, that I shredded the entire notebook. This year, upon reading some on-line journals and using e-mail daily, I've regained the pleasure of pouring out my heart with words. I also discovered Classified!--a customizeable journal program which offers complete encryption, a search feature, spell check, thesaurus, and image and sound file transfers. There's also an option for creating a public version, which would be ideal as a shared/couple journal.
In her book, Put Your Heart On Paper (Bantam Books, 1995) Henriette Anne Klauser presents the benefits of sharing an interactive journal. Such a two-way writing connection allows partners to share thoughts, concerns, feelings, requests, dreams and memories. All that is needed to start a journal is a special notebook, a writing instrument and two open hearts. The journal should be used, ideally when the couple is separated and one or both need to express something. Excerpts could include suggestions for working through a problem, a list of the qualities you love about your mate, recording a memory one of you has just been reminded of, a suggestion for making a date, or even just a short account of your day. Another benefit to this joint writing is that it can provide a safe, open forum for addressing issues which would otherwise go unsaid. Let's face it, there are some things that aren't as easy to say. Writing them can provide the avenue for complete disclosure. The overall purpose is to be able to communicate on a new level, to nurture the relationship, when you do have a spare minute — but your honey doesn't. Likewise, he/she can read the entry whenever he/she is most receptive. With a return response, the process continues and the bond strengthens with each turned page.
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