In another thread we've discussed how difficult it is to get family members to write. Postal letters have been abandoned in favor of e-mail and phone conversations.

I've decided to try a traveling journal within my family. My three daughters have agreed to this with more enthusiasm than I expected. We agreed on the same rules that apply to the FPN traveling journal that I'm participating in - we've limited ourselves to a certain number of pages and agreed to keep the journal no longer than a week before sending it on to the next person. Although all three of my daughters work and have limited time, they feel like this is manageable because the journal will come around to them only about once a month.

I did my writing in our family journal earlier this week and sent it on to one of my daughters. She called me when she received it and said she enjoyed reading my entries while she was stopped in traffic on her way home. I hope this works out - I'll keep you posted. Anyway - it's just an idea. Maybe some relatives who wouldn't dream of writing a letter would be willing to put a few sentences in a traveling journal.

Judybug

I'd love this. But, it isn't going to happen in my family. It could, maybe, between my sister, her daughter, and myself, but it's a big maybe. We're still new to each other. My family has always been rather secretive. Everyone loves each other, but they don't share in that aspect of things. If I'd "honored" some of those secrets, I wouldn't even know my sister and my niece. That's the main reason. The other is that there isn't much left of the family, now, either.

I hope the family journal works well for you. It sounds like it will be a good experience.

This sounds like a wonderful idea! I just wonder who in my family, besides my sister, would be willing to participate. It would be a wonderful heirloom item.

I like this idea a lot. I think I am going to try it with my kids. We all live in different parts of the US and it might be kind of fun to do that.