Journal Day #1

So I stumbled across this journal day idea and found this blog - Sometimes Sweet.  She posts a prompt every Sunday, posts her story response to the prompt on Thursday, and encourages her readers to share their journal day entry with her on her blog.  It seems so calm and friendly and like a really low-key way of starting to branch out and share with other people.  So in following with my writing goals I'm going to try it.  I'm a few weeks behind so there may be a handful of posts coming but once I'm caught up it will be once a week.  Hey, I need all the help I can get getting my creative juices flowing.  Here goes!

Journal Day #1 - Crossroads
Prompt:  Everyone has a time in their life they view as a crossroad.  Sometimes you can see it as it's happening, and you're able to choose one way or another.  Other times you may not realize you're there until you look back, and see what a turning point it really was.  This week, write about a time you view as a marker in your life; a distinct place where things changed, for better or worse.

Around the Christmas holiday last year I was a frustrated, irritable, sour-puss.  My husband was making great strides in getting his woodworking shop back in order after a destructive cupboard incident (the cupboards fell off the wall causing a lot of damage).  He was replacing damaged tools/goods, getting his workshop cleaned up, and starting to spend time out there.  He was finding his bliss in his workshop, getting back into working with his beautifully crafted hand-tools.  He would try to talk to me about plans and things he was excited about.  I was grumpy, and argumentative, and not my usual supportive self.  What the heck was wrong with me?

Basically, I was jealous.  He was doing something he was passionate about.  I was was not.  After I snapped at him and was generally awful, I reflected on what had happened.  That's when I realized I had two choices.  I could figure out what I was passionate about and do it or I could continue to be a horrible jealous monster and damage my relationship with my husband.  Obviously the last thing I wanted to do was damage my relationship with my husband, so I had to figure out what I needed to do to get out of my negative funk.  What did I want to do, what was my bliss?

Writing.  I needed to be writing.  So why wasn't I?  Because I had let all these hangups take over, things like being afraid to write about things that were too personal or being hung up in details that I couldn't remember.  I was making it too hard.  Well, it was time to put up or shut up.  I gave myself permission to write about the hard stuff, and deal with the issues I had been hung up with as they arose.  I was also going to work on over coming my shyness, and try to start putting myself out there with my writing.

I started the next day.  I set aside time to write every day.  I created a blog where I can post things I feel comfortable sharing, with a group I feel comfortable sharing with.  And I'm trying to work through writing about the things I was afraid to before.  Since I started doing this I have been less grumpy, and more at peace.  I'm slowly starting to put myself out there, I started this blog for that purpose.  Now, I just have to keep going and enjoy the ride!

Thank you for the prompt Sometimes Sweet!