Dear Diary...

I was in the basement searching for my rollerblades for Maddie when I struck gold.

I found a bag with my old diaries. The oldest is from 1978 when I was a goofy 5th grader. Maddie and I sat down to read it together, and we both got such a kick and a lot of laughs from it.

Many of the entries documented whether or not I had flute lessons, how much homework I had, and what book I was reading (often Little House on the Prairie books), what I watched on t.v. that day (often Little House on the Prairie also). It covered my birthday and the presents I got, the fact that I was disappointed I didn't have a surprise party, and the guest list at said party (mostly relatives).

It also mentioned that my mom needed x-rays for her knee, but that "it wasn't much". I called mom, because I didn't really remember this, and she told me the whole story, which was a big deal to her, but which she didn't really share with me at the time.

The diary also mentioned that mom was sleeping with me AGAIN! I asked her about that, but she was unable to supply any details. I'm thinking she's still not ready to share that one with me (mom and dad are still happily married, so I guess it was a bump in the road).

One entry told the story that I had completely forgotten, but which blew me away with sadness at the time: the death of my cat, Socks, who was hit with a snowmobile or car (this is our guess) which broke her back. She crawled home to us and died on the kitchen floor. I had covered the page with little teardrops after writing it that night.

And another entry Maddie and I laughed over, although I remember the frustration and angst I felt when writing it, was the time I tried sneaking seven gumballs from our gumball machine to my room in my pajama pocket. According to my diary "I went down with them in my hand and stuffed them in my pocket and mom heard them crackle and took them from me and sent me to bed early and I hate her!" I also covered that page with teardrops.

This little find blossomed into fun time with my daughter and a conversation with my mom, and though neither of those situations is rare, I am so thankful I wrote and saved those diaries.