No, the title is not a typo.  This is what was written on the cover of my very first journal.  I have always been a journal-keeper - beginning in 4th grade (hence my lack of spelling skills), and running through…well, I guess my journal has just moved over time from notebooks to emails to blogs.  And really, aren’t bloggers just the journalers of yesterday?

Rarely do I pull my physical notebook journals out of moth balls anymore.  I used to think that when I got older, I would share them with my daughter - assuming I had one - and since that hasn’t happened as yet, I have basically let them sit together bundled up in a Rubbermaid container lo these many years gone by.

So today for kicks, I pulled them out of the dark corner in the closet to take a quick glimpse into what 9-year-old, 12-year-old, 15-year-old me was like, and - in the name of blog post topics - thought I’d share some of the inner workings of Deb-in-the-making.  Who knows…this may turn out to be a great theme to do a series of posts on…we shall see.  Of course, it could also turn out to be as boring and dry as butterless toast, in which case this may be my ONLY post where I share from my past!

The first post below is actually the second entry in my diary.  To give you background, the day before I had gone to a rollerskating party for school (remember those?) and a friend of mine who I don’t remember to save my life (Jenny) spent the night.

Hope you enjoy the following writings of a 9-year-old on a mission - I am typing it as-written so enjoy also the typos and lovely word usages - some so vague I’ve inserted the true meaning:

23 March 1984

Dear Diary,

After what happened last night today I was in a very good mood.  Jenny went home at 1:00 o’clock.  Before she left we went to the drug store.  Also today is grandaddy’s birthday.  And Jenny and I made him a bookmark.  After Jenny left I went to the drug store to get a card for Grandaddy.  I had to go there twice because at first I got a card for “Grandmother”!  And then when I went back again I got a card about an ensurance pollice (read: insurance policy).  He was 39 today (read: 58 - I was WAAAAY off!).  When I got to his house Jocelyn was there and so was Aunt Susan, Uncle Jeff, and Uncle Scott “and soon to be…” Aunt Lisa.  Jocelyn had a baby that has a white washcloth and pink baby diper pins for a diper.  For supper we had lots of things and the cake was called chocklet cream and it had chocklet iceing in some parts nad it was almost competly covered with mine (read: mini) chips covered with chocklet power (read: powder).

Sign.

One more quick entry…something of an early movie review:

16 June 1984

Dear Diary,

I think today was wonderful!  Daddy, Joanna, and I went and picked-up Sarah and Allyson.  Then we went to church.  Soon after we got there we went to Gremlians (read: Gremlins as in the movie).  It was so scary and so funny.  There was this one part after all the bad gremlains were about.  Some of them saw the children singing to the people (mind you it was Christmas eve) so they actacked (read: attacked) the children, got on ear muffs and everything and went to the door of an old lady that hated children that sang.  So when she heard the gremlains singing she got mad, went to the door and when she saw the gremlains, she was scared half out of her wits.  She hoped (read: hopped) in her chair that went up next to the steps, turned it on hight (read: high) speed and went zooming up the stairs.  When the chair got to the top it went through the window and flying!

P.S. it wasn’t hot today.

‘Nough said, I think.  Stay tuned for more…