by Nancy Casey
Before the year 2019 slips away, you can use your writing to recall events that were important to you and to notice the many things that have changed for you as those 365 days marched by.
Set up your page first. Draw a line at the top where the title will go. Divide the remaining space on the page into 12 more-or-less equal parts. Label the parts with the names of the months, January through December. Don’t write the labels too big because you want to have room to write something in the space, too.
Scan back through your memories of the past year. Try to recall the different months. What comes to mind as you remember your year? What month was it?
In the spaces you made on your page, write something down about every month of the past year. Anything that you remember. Skip around the different months, don’t try to force yourself to do it in order.
It can be hard to remember something specific from every month right away. Sometimes it takes some thought. Doodle on your page and see what pops into your mind. Or get up and do something else for a while.
Sometimes you can jog your memory by reviewing the year’s weather. What do you remember from the seasons when it was warm or cold? Did you get rained on this year? When?
You might think of special events. Holidays and vacations. Birthdays—your own, or somebody elses?
Maybe you had a change-of-heart or a new realization about someone or something. Maybe you learned something new or understood something for the first time.
Perhaps you have experienced or witnessed major life events—births, deaths, marriages, divorces, job changes, illness, moving, a new friend. Ask yourself, “In what month did all that happen?”
When you have recalled something for every month and written something about it in that month’s space, look back over your work. Make additions and small changes if you like. Add color or illustration if you choose.
When you are satisfied with the page, give it a title and write the date on it, too. Here is an example of what someone could write.
You can share your work by posting it as a comment below. You can type it in, or take a photo of it and upload the image.
Nancy Casey has lived in Latah County for many years. You can find more of her work here. She taught the Write-For-You writing class at the Recovery Center last summer and will return again in the spring. For more information about classes and writing certificates, contact Nancy or the Latah Recovery Community Center
Latah Recovery Community Center, Inc. 