Jane Jacobs posted a link to a New York Times piece this weekend entitled, “Finding Myself in My Mother’s Calendars.” Reading it made me think about my mother’s address book. After my parents passed and we were cleaning out their belongings, I took several small items one of which was my mom’s address book and one of the others was my father’s wallet.

Every so often, as I did this weekend, I’ll find myself just reading through my mother’s address book. In many ways, it’s a chronicle of her life in her handwriting. People she knew the longest have obviously older entries while people who came into her world later in life clearly have newer entries. There are also some covert hints as to how she felt about certain people, i.e. she had written down some of her friend’s birthdays clearly wanting to remember them at the proper time. And, there are some people whose names and information she crossed out, apparently at odds with them.

Interestingly, there is one friend whose name and information she crossed out and then rewrote. I recall there being a very nasty falling out between them and then an apology to my mother and a reconciliation some years later. I smile at that and think about what a kind, forgiving woman my mom truly was.

Thank you Jane for reminding me that it was again time to read my mom’s address book.

What cherished mementos do you have from your loved ones?