Terry's 3M's

Today there will be journal entries throughout the internet that will be answering the following questions:
1) Is there anything that you intentionally omit from your journal? Why?
2) Don't want to look at the pimples and warts?
3) Rather take some secrets silently to the grave?
4) Do you write to please an internal editor?
5) How honest are you?

To check out other journals that are answering this question, go to the The Diary Collaboration site.

I do omit things from this online journal. It's not that they are particularly important; but, rather because I think my journal is mundane enough as it stands and doesn't need to become more banal than it already is.

Well, maybe that's not entirely honest. Part of the reason why my journal isn't a thrilling one is that I consider certain things in the lives of my family to be private and therefore, I don't write about them. Financial matters (outside of my own), spousal discussions, opinions that might injure another, and the like are off limits to my internal censor. Basically because while I have decided to put parts of my life online, I am sensitive to the other people in my family.

As far as I know, no one in my family reads my journal. The kids all know that they are written into it and they haven't given me any limits about it. OK, Bryan asked me not to write something (about how he felt about being rejected by the girl he "loves"). But, then he relented and told me that I could go ahead and put it in. Faye and Delton know that they are written into the journal as well. They haven't asked me not to write about anything. But, I know that it's because they both trust that I wouldn't intentionally write anything embarrassing about them.

It's not a matter of hiding pimples and warts. I am quite candid about things that have happened to me. The physical abuse that I took from my step-mother, being raped at 14, being sexually abused as a kid...those things are documented here.

As a Christian, I know that to receive forgiveness, I must forgive. And while I may have some emotional scars left from my childhood and teen years, I think I have succeeded in forgiving those people who hurt me. That's why I haven't named them. It's not because I fear criminal prosecution for libel. It's not libel when court records from that time hold some of that information. And in another case, the person is dead and you can't libel the dead. But, if I've forgiven them, then I don't need to throw mud on their names at this time in my life.

I try to be as honest as I can in my writing of this journal. If I'm not being honest here, it's probably because I've been dishonest with myself. But, about the only area where this occurs is in the area of food. I keep telling myself that tomorrow I will start on this special diet for my blood type...but, I know that when tomorrow comes I know that I probably will be having something with beef like the rest of the family.

And as far as keeping secrets forever, the only secrets I have are in the form of sexual fantasies. And no...I won't be divulging those sinful thoughts here. Or anywhere.

The most time-consuming of these items is checking websites for awards. There are many sites that have almost as many sections as my site does. Since I try to check every page on a site, that sometimes means that I can spend two to four hours checking out one site.

When I took off all that time from my online chores in January and February, I got way behind in checking sites for awards. I'm still working on that. But, I will get caught up eventually (and hopefully very soon)--so, if you sign one of my guestbooks, I'll get to your site someday.

Thanks to for the border background set.