Written in Pencil
"Just because everything is different doesn't mean anything has changed." ~Irene Peter
It took me an address book and a half before I realized as a military wife that I couldn't write peoples addresses in pen. All of our friends move as often as we do and it got to the point where a whole letter would be dedicated to one family and all of their moves. That is when a wise friend told me the secret; you write your friends names in pen and their addresses and phone numbers in pencil. This was weird at first because it made everything look so temporary, but it has been effective ~ I've had the same address book for the last 15 years.
My mother in law has always used pencils to do her morning crossword. Perfectly sharpened pencils sit by the phone where she reads the paper, just waiting to be used for the Jumble, Crossword and Sudoku. When I was young and naive, I tried to do the crossword in pen. That is a lesson in futility, much like the jumble and sudoku, it is only the very smart who can do those puzzles without making mistakes. These same sharp pencils are used to write on the calendar that sits above the phone in my mother in law's house. I always found it peculiar that plans were written in pencil and not pen, until now.
When I bought my new planner, I filled the two pen holders with beautiful roller ball pens. I chose my favorite colors so I could have variety. I wrote my plans in pen and my to do lists and my goals. I wrote my addresses in pen too. The front half of my planner looks like an ink bomb exploded in it, those calendars of months past are chaotic and permanently colored. Yesterday when I opened my planner, I smiled at the transformation that has occurred without my recognizing it. Where two pens have been are now two sharp pencils, the kind like I used to love as a kid, that have the changeable pencil leads. My monthly calendars are written in pencil and erasable and my addresses are the same.
Military life is full of change. Life doesn't go exactly the way we plan it either. Pencils, and their erasers, are a good thing.
It took me an address book and a half before I realized as a military wife that I couldn't write peoples addresses in pen. All of our friends move as often as we do and it got to the point where a whole letter would be dedicated to one family and all of their moves. That is when a wise friend told me the secret; you write your friends names in pen and their addresses and phone numbers in pencil. This was weird at first because it made everything look so temporary, but it has been effective ~ I've had the same address book for the last 15 years.
My mother in law has always used pencils to do her morning crossword. Perfectly sharpened pencils sit by the phone where she reads the paper, just waiting to be used for the Jumble, Crossword and Sudoku. When I was young and naive, I tried to do the crossword in pen. That is a lesson in futility, much like the jumble and sudoku, it is only the very smart who can do those puzzles without making mistakes. These same sharp pencils are used to write on the calendar that sits above the phone in my mother in law's house. I always found it peculiar that plans were written in pencil and not pen, until now.
When I bought my new planner, I filled the two pen holders with beautiful roller ball pens. I chose my favorite colors so I could have variety. I wrote my plans in pen and my to do lists and my goals. I wrote my addresses in pen too. The front half of my planner looks like an ink bomb exploded in it, those calendars of months past are chaotic and permanently colored. Yesterday when I opened my planner, I smiled at the transformation that has occurred without my recognizing it. Where two pens have been are now two sharp pencils, the kind like I used to love as a kid, that have the changeable pencil leads. My monthly calendars are written in pencil and erasable and my addresses are the same.
Military life is full of change. Life doesn't go exactly the way we plan it either. Pencils, and their erasers, are a good thing.
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