more than just addresses

I reached for my address book this afternoon and thought, “You know, I should share this with my friends”. I wish I knew what year I started filling this with family and friend’s addresses. If I were to guess, I would say 25 years ago. This little book is full of  history!

Last year, while at the NAFB convention, John Deere was handing out green duct tape. I thought it added some nice color to a book that was needing a little TLC.

When I was trying to decide what pages to take a picture of to show what sort of history is recorded in my address book, I decided the one to use was “H”. These two pages tell family history, beginning with my youngest brother, Matt. The top entry is his Orange Vale, CA address. If I had taken a picture of the previous pages, you would see his Davis, CA address. Matt left home after graduating from art school and moved his world to California. As years evolve, throwing curves and sharp turns, the address book reflects the life changes.

This page also gives the beginning history of the many changes my middle brother, Mark, has had throughout his life – including all overseas addresses. Mark joined the air force after high school and worked his way to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He has since retired and his family’s roots are growing pretty deep in Florida.

The owners of the crossed out addresses that I miss the most are my Grandpa and Grandma. The address on the yellow sticker was the home they moved to after the 1980 Grand Island tornadoes destroyed their home that was built when my dad was much younger.  Those tornadoes tried to destroy their livelihood, as well.  They were supposed to leave for harvest the day after the tornadoes destroyed much of what they owned. After Grandpa died in 1994, Grandma ended up moving to the care center and lived there until she passed away in October 1995.

Each page of my address book brings memories and stories to mind. Do you have an address book like this? Anyone who has been involved in my life the past 25 years has a place in my history book and I have every address that you would have had.

Not only do I have addresses, but I also have very important information that needs to be kept for later reminders. 🙂

AND

Beautiful artwork and notes that remain near and dear to my heart.

So, here’s my advice to you. Although technology has taken over our lives, I would highly recommend you buy yourself a good old-fashioned  address book. Start by writing the date you begin filling it in and then add…cross out, add…cross out as the years come and go. I’m confident that one day, you too will enjoy flipping through the pages and recall people and places that have been a major part of your history.