I’ve kept a diary/small journal for 30 years and decided this year will be my last one. Do any other grans keep one? ?

I keep a daily diary, quite detailed and stored in hampers under my bed! There are one or two organisations who are interested in diaries - especially women’s. One I think is the British library and the other the Women’s Studies department at one of the London Universities. My younger son knows to send mine off.

EllanVannin

I've got video's which contain many family members and friends, going back to the 80's, some of whom have since died, including my late H, but I can never bring myself to watch them. My D has them---I've got the video player.
GC when they were babies/ toddlers who are now in their 30's.

I have loads of family videos too. I have no problem watching them, it's lovely to see my mother and father again. And don't forget they get more precious with time. Your grandchildren (and their children) will treasure them because they show people (ancestors) they never met and your children as youngsters.

Urmstongran ??

Urmstongran just don't throw them in a skip! Some years ago I half read a book the book wasn't very interesting by an author whose neighbour found 148 diaries in a skip and gave them to him to write a book about it! (Not saying yours will be uninteresting

A Life Discarded: 148 Diaries Found in a Skip is the book.

www.theguardian.com/books/2016/may/03/a-life-discarded-18-diaries-found-in-a-skip-alexander-masters-review-fourth-4th-estate-dido-davies

Ooh that’s different EV a visual record of family life. Holidays and people. More than photographs so I’m not surprised to hear you’d find them a difficult watch now so many of the people you loved are no longer with you. Sorry, I don’t mean to make you sadder.

And yet.
It’s my thoughts that I’ve recorded. Some churned up feelings too at times. That’s why I’m thinking as they are personal they’re not for sharing. IYSWIM?

EV it would be lovely to see your children as toddlers and your late husband smiling, family laughing together, but so sad at the same time to see how much time has passed and what has been lost.
Maybe one day.

I agree Gannygangan those sound pretty boring diaries!
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LauraNorder that was a poignant tale, brought memories back for you of the lovely Anne. Yes, it’s a thing isn’t it when we’ve committed our feelings to paper. Like you, I’m not sure what to do with mine. I shall decide next year but I think paddyanne has given me the green light. It’s time.

I've got video's which contain many family members and friends, going back to the 80's, some of whom have since died, including my late H, but I can never bring myself to watch them. My D has them---I've got the video player.
GC when they were babies/ toddlers who are now in their 30's.

I started going out with Orlin when we were both 15. We fell out for about 8 months when we were 18 and I went out with a lad of 20. WE WERE ON A BREAK. He had the most lovely mother and when we broke up, because Orlin came looking for me, I was upset at losing her.
Two years later Orlin and I got married and I received a package just before from the lovely mother.
It was a beautiful leather bound diary and a note saying that she hoped I’d be very happy but if there were ever times I felt sad or worried or even happy and want to share, to write to her in the diary, as in Dear Anne, never to be posted but always to feel she was a close friend.
I have, ever since 1970, kept a diary with every entry starting Dear Anne....
I never saw her again but have felt her friendship, funnily enough I never thought about her son or the connection until I wrote this post and realised how it might look.
I didn’t ever buy another diary just exercise books full of letters. Mostly cheery goings on but some deep and meaningful thoughts. Interestingly the deep and meaningful bits were only during less happy times.
Not sure if I want my boys to read them. Hopefully I have time to think about it.

My friend, now 59, has been keeping diaries since she was about 12. Very detailed with all the emotions and feelings she's experienced over the years.

I could never be bothered

But my Mum kept small ones with just dates if hair and the like .Saw the children. GC2 phoned. Family gone away etc etc. Always a mention of the weather.

I have a box full of them and there they'll stay until I've popped my clogs

Oh no DerDer I bet that was a difficult request to comply with and although insightful (which is why your mum wanted you to read them) upsetting to I imagine. And once you ‘know’ something, you can’t ‘un-know it’ sadly.

aggie that made me laugh about a diary in code! Bletchley Park came to mind.
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Grandma70s I do wonder if (me) there’s also an element of habit ingrained over the years? I’ll be free of it soon ...

Gagagran you make me realise I’m a novice at this game! That’s some serious diary writing lady. Mine are less wordy but certainly will contain my thoughts & feelings of the time.

Actually when I re-read them during next year it will I’m sure be comforting to realise with hindsight that 9 times out of 10 our worst fears never happen.

I think it's a wonderful idea if it's for yourself. But if family members are likely to read them when you are gone, maybe choose which to keep.
I had to read through my late Mum's, which she had requested. But it was hard reading about her trials and tribulations. I wouldn't wish that on my children.

I started writing a diary in my teens , I got obsessed about my siblings reading them and invented a code !
Years later I found them but couldn’t remember the code ! They got binned ?

I write down what is occupying my mind just about every day, and always have done. I write in ordinary exercise books. I had volumes and volumes, but when I was in hospital a couple of years ago I asked my trustworthy elder son to shred them, which he did. Since then I have missed being able to dip in and see how I was thinking five or ten years ago. I am still writing, so there will be more to replace the destroyed ones. I simply can’t imagine not writing about everyday life and thoughts.

As I have said on GN previously, I have kept a daily journal since 1957 when I was 14. I was inspired by a BBC drama about Samuel Pepys, the famous diarist (played by Peter Sallis who was Clegg in Last of the Summer Wine).

It just became a habit and I always write it up at the end of the day before I go to bed. Occasionally it's next morning if we have been out or unwell or something has cropped up. When I started it was small pocket diaries with bits of paper added if I had a lot to record. I progressed to "page-a day" A5 size desk diaries many years ago and never have any problem filling the page - and sometimes more.

I am going to bequeath my many, many A5 size journals to The Great Diary Project
www.thegreatdiaryproject.co.uk/

It would feel a shame to burn or destroy the millions of words I have written and events I recorded, over all these years.

I do enjoy dipping into it and reading what I was doing on the same date, in different years, as I am dipping!.

I am convinced that my good memory is because I have written things down and they have become embedded in my memory bank!

I love my journals.

Now don’t be giving me ideas Jaxjacky for when I’m no longer writing in a diary....

As a family, we inherited Mum’s, they just sit in a loft, a lot of days record the weather, others detail holidays, the only very sad entries are when my dear old Dad was dying. To be honest, I can see them going. Far more interesting are her ledgers, detailing her daily spend, down to every pack of chewing gum, fascinating piece of history.

Aw seacliff that’s a lovely story to hear - how your father’s diaries brought you comfort. I do agree with you that with today’s technology and ‘time poor’ adults - always so so busy - that diary keeping might well be a dying occupation.

GreyKnitter that’s really interesting to know that you kept diaries more mindfully at different stages of your life. Good to reflect that your daughter escaped her abusive ex. However your ‘lockdown diary’ might well be a keeper. Just chuck the others. When you’re ready.
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I would say it's a good idea as it gets your thoughts down and can remember them they come to mind in a conversation and you can speak of things as you remember and can recall your thoughts.

I always mean to have a diary to write in for those reasons but as yet haven't got around to it ha.

I have notebooks all over the place - I usually have about four on the go at any one time - and I jot down all sorts of random things in them. My diaries detail my work and home life, with an occasional odd musing, but nothing to make me blush. When I finally retire (if I can ever get anyone to replace me!) I look forward to burning the lot.

I have kept a diary at various stages in my life and probably for different reasons each time. My first diary was when I was getting married for the first time back in the mid 70’s. I recorded everything - my thoughts and feelings plus the practical stuff - nothing x rated I promise! I then kept a diary for a while when a long term relationship came to an end and I found myself single and living on my own in my 50’s. A couple of years ago I kept a detailed diary of the awful break up between my daughter and her now ex. I was her listening ear and I kept such a close record as I hoped it would help me to cope from a long way away and maybe help when her abusive husband was taken to court - he never was - never quite crossed the line enough. I’ve also been keeping a diary since we went into lockdown last year - we isolated yourselves a week or so before the national lockdown began. I’m still keeping this one and hope that it may be of interest one day when we all look back in these strange times. I think the first three diaries are destined for the bonfire before I pop my clogs.

When my Dad died 10 years ago I was then an orphan, and it hit me really badly. I derived a lot of comfort from rereading Dad's diaries over the years. It was not his innermost thoughts but the mundane details of our lives, very comforting to almost hear my Dad's voice through the pages. I kept dipping in to them for about a year, it helped me get through that first stage of loss

I suspect that future generations will not write diaries much at all, now they all have smartphones. It's a shame really as they are quite historical documents..

muse ?

twiceasnice I suppose writing a diary about your grandchildren per se is a wholly different concept. You are noting down events probably in the hope that at some time in the future your little ones (who will be big ones at your demise, hopefully) will want to read them. Some part of you will be mindful of that whilst you are jotting stuff down. I had no such thoughts with 11 y.o. And a 14 y.o. daughters. In fact to be honest I don’t even know what might be in them.

Family dramas (not too many thankfully and we’ve survived), a few sad times (who hasn’t) and my emotions... teenage girls, boyfriends - suitable and unsuitable ... luckily the unsuitables didn’t survive the relationships!

paddyanne I’m glad you’ve no regrets about getting rid of all yours. It’s given me optimism!

I feel lighter knowing I’m not going to continue. Silly really. I like things to be ordered - well, in my mind.
Still #lazygran!

It’s cathartic know I’ve made a decision.

God, this is like a ‘Dear Diary’ entry in itself! You can see what I’m like ... thank you for reading (my nonsense) & responding.

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Have kept a 5 year diary from being ten years old. I’m now 68.

Useful to check certain things back, as long as you have an idea when to search for.

Some happy writings, some very sad, some plain daft!

Don’t think I want them read after I die, certain private thoughts, but also a lot of ‘rain today, didn’t get washing dry’ type of stuff.

For the latter part of my first marriage I kept a note book. This was an outlet for my worries and stress. I'd date the entries. I didn't need the note books any more after 1st January 1990, the day I walked away from him.

2019 was a difficult year so I bought a diary for 2020 and have one for this year. As back in the 1980s, I find writing down my emotions very cathartic and therapeutic. 2021 is having more positive entries .