I Found a Time Capsule of Lost Words I Wrote About My Baby
A love letter to my daughter on her one-week birthday
Have you ever lost your words?
And no, I don’t mean you got flustered and couldn’t think of the right thing to say. I mean, have you ever written something of great importance, and then lost those words, forever?
I have, twice.
The first was in 2002, when I spent over two months studying Spanish in Spain. I kept a handwritten journal of my adventures, my loneliness, my wonders, my travels, my life spent living as a sort-of Spaniard. It started all in English and by the end was equal parts English and Spanish, as my skills grew. I’d filled nearly the entire book with words. And I had it with me in my bag when I visited a karaoke bar one evening toward the end of my stay. While I got up and sang Bryan Adams’ “Summer of ‘69” a complete monster of a “ladrón” stole my bag. They got a lipstick, maybe 12 euros — and my completely, utterly irreplaceable journal.
It’s been over 20 years.
What I wouldn’t give to have that journal back.
The second time I lost my words, they were digital, not handwritten. When I was pregnant in 2007, I decided to blog about it. But I didn’t use a platform that…
