Paperwork: I did it – a journal thanks to a fan and a fountain pen

“I am thinking about starting a journal.”

So I said in late November last year when I wrote about keeping a journal. But I also noted this column has evolved since I began writing it in November 2007.

“After 15 years, I’m pretty comfortable with these chats we have each week,” I concluded. “I have left a trail of thoughts and memories that do reflect a personal journey. A journal.”

So I was undecided as 2023 approached, but there was a lot of great feedback from many in favor of journaling.

A wonderful email came from a reader who told me her father kept a daily diary for more than 60 years, starting when he was a teen.

“Every day he would write,” she said. … “He would switch from writing to printing, and I could see when his handwriting would change with his aging years.

“I learned thoughts he had that I never knew about. I learned how he always kept himself busy and how his extended family would come to him for advice and for help in projects they had. I learned how he worked so hard in the outside when it was cold and snowy. ...

“I have much appreciation that I was able to learn more about my father and his thoughts on life,” she concluded, adding, “It was due to him keeping a diary that in later years I have been keeping a diary, although I call it a journal.”

She uses her journal to write about family and what she enjoys in life, details she wants her children to know. She added a note that turned out to be a trigger for me.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” she said, “I love to use a fountain pen when I do journal, love the sound of the nib as it touches the pages, and it does often touch many pages at a sitting.”

Before I say more, I must tell you about the package that arrived in my mail shortly after my journal column. Inside was a 2023 Sierra Club “engagement calendar” with glossy pages that flipped easily over wire spiral binding.

Inside was this handwritten note: “Lonny: Absolutely, you should keep a journal; you love to write. I’ve been keeping one since 1995 and the only downside is they’re in cursive and no one will be able to read them.

“Consider the Sierra Club 2023, 52 weeks and not digital. Happy writing in 2023 and beyond.” It was signed “A Fan.”

I was tempted but unsure I’d keep the daily pace. Then I thought about that email and remembered the unused fountain pen shoved and forgotten in my desk drawer. This would be the perfect excuse to use it. Writing in that calendar book could be fun.

And it was. … and still is. My first entry was Dec. 31, 2022, New Year’s Eve. I have not missed a day since. Thank you to my fan.

I used the journal only to log my writing progress and related activities. This added pressure on me to make sure I had something to write each day.

When the new year starts I hope to expand. I have several journaling “books” around with undated, blank pages. More room to write. More room to share thoughts each day.

Perhaps I will answer the journal question I was considering a year ago: What would you tell your kids and grandkids about this day? This would help make every day count.

And most definitely, I will be doing this with a fountain pen.

• Lonny Cain, retired managing editor of The Times in Ottawa, also was a reporter for The Herald-News in Joliet in the 1970s. His Paperwork email is lonnyjcain@gmail.com. Or mail The Times, 110 W. Jefferson St., Ottawa, IL 61350.