Dear Diary...

While I was pondering my New Year's resolutions yesterday -- and their consistency from year to year -- I wondered if I had a record of them anywhere. I found a box last night containing high school yearbooks, all kinds of my reports and papers, school pictures and (jackpot) several diaries and journals I kept as a girl.

The oldest one (as in earliest one) I had was a handmade one that consisted of several pieces of 8 1/2 by 11 paper folded in half, with two holes punched close to the left edge, with brown yarn looped through to hold the pages in place. My handwriting on the front just said, "My Diary." I had just finished 5th grade and turned 11 when I started that one.

I started reading and was fascinated. So this is what my life was like when I was Carter's age. Or at least, this was my perspective on what life was like. With the turn of each page, I could picture myself in my old room, probably sitting on the top bunk, writing down those thoughts and observations from the day. Not necessarily because they were earth-shattering or major news events but because, apparently even then, I just enjoyed writing.

If you'll humor me, please, I think I'll be sharing an occasional entry this year as it ties into other aspects of my life today. Maybe it will take you on some of your own trips down Memory Lane.

Remember, girls, when our whole life revolved around boys? (Maybe that hasn't changed.) That's how my diary started. This is my very first entry that I could find. It must have been about the first week of 6th grade. (Last names are deleted to protect the innocent! Spelling and grammatical errors are not edited either.)

August 23, 1979

Dear diary, at school I had too high of desk, you see I'm very short for my age. So I had to get it lowered. I had to sit in Joel ___'s desk for Health because two legs of my desk were up and two of them were down, it's lowered now. Today in afternoon recess Leslie and I were out in the football field with some boys who were playing football. I took Paul's hat. (He used to be my old boyfriend.) We had lots of fun. Now Brent ___ is the love of my life. He almost got this one sheet of paper I tore up because Jon ___ wrote Robyn + Brent and I didn't want Brent to see. He stole my pen and wrote Robyn + Brent on his pants.
Signed,
Robyn H.

Yikes. Now do you see why I am getting gray hairs already about Carter and his girlfriends? If this was life in 6th grade almost 30 years ago, imagine what's happening now! Ahhh. This should be an interesting and perhaps educational flashback. I hope you'll enjoy the journey back in time.