Whenever I go to Uptown (a small, quaint section of Minneapolis), I go into Paper Source.  I stock up on cards and browse their very creative shelves.  This past weekend, I picked up Just Between Us: A No-Stress, No-Rules Journal for Girls and Their Moms , a journal meant for a mother and daughter (written by Meredith Jacobs of Modern Jewish Mom fame, and her daughter, Sofie).

Liliana is much too young for it yet, but I bought it, with the hopes that she might want to fill its pages with me some day.  I am aware there may come a day where she won’t want to speak to me, but perhaps, just perhaps, this may be one way to keep the communication channels open.

Written by a mother and daughter, the book starts with an introduction in which they both exclaim how writing things down seemed to be better than talking.  Girls are embarrassed to be saying these things to their mothers’ faces (don’t you remember this?), so why shouldn’t there be another way?  Tada!  There is.

Sample pages…

The mother part of the journal is on the left-hand side, the daughter’s on the right-hand side.  Every assignment is equal.

A sample of a daughter page:

Sample of a mother page (“Things I talked to my mom about when I was your age” and “Things I wish I’d been able to talk to her about”):

I think it’s a fab idea.  I wonder if it would work for grown-up moms and daughters.  I’d love to give it a shot.  Up for it, Mom?

Or you could do it with a friend.  Wouldn’t that be grand?

Just an idea…

[Post image: Detail of Just Between Us by Meredith and Sofie Jacobs cover]