Change of Address

I recently bought my daughter a gift:  an address book.  A what? you might say (if you're a Gen Z'er anyway).  An address book! Yes, yes, I know it's antiquated and outdated.  That's what the contacts section is for in our phones, lady!  I know, I know. But still.  There's something about a physical book full of friends and family's information.  I filled in several addresses for her. . .family and close friends, so she can write everyone lots of letters like I did in college - ha!  But seriously, I thought she might like to have the addresses to send thank you notes or birthday cards every now and then.

I chose one I thought might be timeless, because the address book I still use is from early college.  It's ugly - a plastic green cover with some ridiculous design, battered with years of use.  But looking through my address book is like taking a walk down memory lane (which, as you might guess, dear reader, is one of my favorite things to do! :).

5 or 10 years out of college I received an address book as a gift.  It was lovely and I sat down to transfer my addresses out of the old one and into the new one.  But. . . I couldn't do it.  Some addresses were for people I didn't keep in touch with anymore, but I couldn't bear to erase them from my postal history.  A few things you might find if you thumbed through the worn pages of my almost 30-year-old address book:

Scribbles and crossed out entires:  As people moved over time, especially so many of my young friends, I would cross out their name and address, and write a new entry for them at the end of their section.  As a result, I have a timeline of so many friends' geographical history.

New married names:  So many of my friends and family were getting married in those early years, and new married names were popping up all over my book.  It's fun to look back to the first entries of each section to see my friends' maiden names, listed under their parents' addresses.

Sainted friends and family:  As people passed away over the years, I took to drawing a cross over their names and leaving their entry otherwise undisturbed.  When I glance back over each section, I am reminded of people I have loved over the years.  It makes me so happy to see their names and addresses and remember our shared history.

Inexplicable entries:  There are several entries that I have no memory of making or ever needing. . .for example the California Office of Tourism (remember before the internet how we had to plan vacations?  Maybe I was hoping for a California trip that never materialized). . .the Dominoes near my college campus (I don't recall ever getting Dominoes!). . .our college Round Robin Telephone list (I don't remember ever needing to use this, but it was our friend group's telephone tree list in case an urgent need arose while not at school - remember youngins - this was before the world was at our fingertips!). . .Southwest Airlines Reservations. . .my grandma's real estate office number 💗. . .the Chicago weather phone number. . .and several entries for people I don't even remember (I'm thinking they were for people I babysat for in college and not good friends I've somehow forgotten!).

The entrance of my new husband:  After a few entries on each page, you might see my husband's handwriting amidst mine, after we got married adding his college friends to our expanding list of contacts.  He wrote in college-man-speak, listing his friends by their college nicknames, and not concerned with addresses, just phone numbers.

Love:  As I flipped through my old book to determine which addresses my daughter may need, I felt an overwhelming sense of love and gratefulness.  I am grateful for all these people whose lives have intersected mine.  Thankful for the part they played (and still play) in shaping who I am now.  Each of those entries (aside from some of the whackadoodle ones listed above) was written down in a desire to keep in touch with someone.  Though much time has passed, those people still bring a smile to my face, and the memories we shared resurface.

I know the address book I am sending my daughter will probably not be as well used as mine has been (and still is).  Times are changing and her phone will indeed probably be her go to for contact information.  But maybe this book will house a few of her loved ones, and someday she might flip through and reflect on the people God has placed in her path, as I have had the privilege to do.