My Own Little New Year Tradition

I was in 5th grade when I first received a 5-year diary from my Aunt whom we (my siblings and I) fondly call, Tita Linda. Her family came to visit Chicago from Sacramento, California for my youngest brother's wedding this past October and only then did I mention how much I treasured that diary. I remember how I made sure to keep it locked and the key always hidden in a box somewhere in my drawer. I discovered how much I loved writing and documenting my thoughts and daily experiences. The daily entries before bed became my own little tradition. I kept that diary until I was 15 years old and then around every December I started looking for a new diary to write on for the upcoming year. Part of my little tradition on New Year's Eve was to read back on what I wrote for the entire year and sometimes even going back several years after that. Life happened and I stopped writing after college. Maybe because work and marriage kept me busy. A big part of my job in the fashion industry then were writing daily reports on the department stores I visit carrying our brand. There were in-store allocations and installations to worry about and lots of seminars / fashion shows to concentrate on. I traveled extensively throughout the US for this. It never really occurred to me then that I stopped writing in my diary and that I stopped buying a yearly diary/planner. Then I got pregnant for the first time in 1999. With my yearning to find answers on motherhood, I turned to the internet and learned to build my own website and authored my own personal pregnancy site. In 2000 I then discovered BLOGGING ! I instantly jumped in and opened a blogger account. The happy feelings of writing were back. Foolishly, I completely poured out my heart and soul without the thought of online privacy, etc… And after a couple of reader comments on my new baby, I got scared. Really scared. Thoughts of some maniac after my child drove me insane and the mama bear in me instinctively deleted all of my posts. ALL. I cried the moment I realized I should have just made it private. I didn't know that then. After a few months, I went back and got more comfortable. I have been blogging since and can't even imagine without it. However, I've neglected this blog lately. Been busy with work and well...motherhood. But tonight after the New Year's Eve countdown with the family, I decided to go back and read through a couple of entries over the years. Just like the little tradition of my own on the 1st day of every year. With that of course comes the first entry of the year. It's been 30+ years later since I received that diary, I still enjoy writing and has been blogging professionally for quite some time now. I have Tita Linda to thank for blessing me with the gift of having my own tradition. I hope that my children will also have a Tita Linda of their own to thank one day.


I'm thankful for the many fruitful and blessed years and the rockin' 2011 and I'm looking forward to an exciting 2012! Happy New Year to all!