It’s wonderful reading through Dad’s journals. (None of us, kids, have read the ones in recent years, though…) It’s important and necessary. When we have a question about what happened on a certain day, the solution is to go to Dad’s journal.
It’s fun discovering my mom’s entries in his journals too. So, the days following after I was born, both my parents wrote in my dad’s journal. (It’s wonderful to see how well my parents work together.) My dad wrote some technical stuff and probably how great it was that I was born. (I just remember reading about my weight, size, etc.) My mom wrote that when my dad found out he had a daughter, that he “cried with joy.”
My dad’s written daily in a journal for longer than…well, for a long time. I would write on and off in my journal growing up, but it wasn’t ’til 2007, after I heard a General Conference talk by President Henry B. Eyring, that I was more motivated to write every day. I really tried, got frustrated, but thanks to my dad’s unwavering example, I’ve succeeded for the most part (I’ve just missed a few days) the last fifteen years.
I’m happy to find answers in my own journal entries. But I still rely heavily on my dad and his journals when I have certain questions. Valuable examples include his details about a car accident I had, a post on my blog, my surgery (I wrote like one sentence entries; he wrote a way longer-and funnier- account), etc.
Thanks to his journals, mine, and those who have written about him, it’s easier to recall events as well as realize how much my dad loves me.
I also want to add that pictures and videos have also been valuable records. Though people can get annoyed when taking pics, you have to admit, you’re grateful for them later!
