What’s Your Project?Project #104

The “We Love You Because…” Journal: First, I bought a nice blank journal, the artsy kind with thick handmade-looking paper, bound in Nepal or somewhere. It had a black binding, and its cover and pages looked like oatmeal would look if you could dry out oatmeal and flatten it into paper. As I recall, I bought the book in an art-supply store in Chelsea when I was visiting Manhattan. The books were on sale. Second, when I got home, I used a nice black-ink pen to write, on the cover, “We.” Then my daughter wrote, in careful lettering, “Love.” My son wrote, “You.” And then I wrote, “Because…” Third, the kids and I took turns writing in the journal, finishing that sentence, devoting one reason per page. For example, my daughter wrote, “You make the bestest cookies in the whole entire world.” On another page, I wrote, “You like to buy the latest hi-tech cleaning supplies.” And on another page, my son wrote, “You look weird when you wear a mud mask.” By writing only one reason per page and taking turns, we easily filled up the book in a week or two. We took our time, wrote carefully, and, to capture inspiration, kept the book handy near the breakfast table, kitchen counter, or Playstation 2. Fourth, we gave the journal to my wife the night before she left to start her new job in another state. (We would follow in a month.) We told her not to read it until she got to the new apartment. Fifth, she told us she kept it by her bed and read it every night.

David Barringer
Davidson, NC
davidbarringer.com