About a dozen years ago I bought a book similar to the one to the right. It suited me perfectly with its monthly and weekly 2-page spreads. Monthly for a quick glance at major events, weekly for to do lists and appointments. I tried to buy one the next year but that style was not to be found in stores nor online. I guessed they discontinued making them. Even then there were probably few people like me who loved the physicality and ease of paper calendars.So, being resourceful and having enough computer and word processing skills to create a similar book, I set out to duplicate the calendar book I loved. I succeeded and have been making them annually ever since.
These books get pretty racked up by the end of a year: I shove the book into and pull it out of my purse, make notes, pencil-in and erase entries, and sometimes paste in bits of paper. The wire binding and flexible cover allow me to put a pencil between the pages before I close the book. Handy. It's all very handy. If you like paper. And probably faster than your digital calendar. My doctor once asked me when I'd had a particular exam. When I couldn't remember the date, she started looking through my digital records on her computer. I pulled out my calendar book and found the date in no time. She bemoaned needing to change to digital medical records. I find computers are faster for some things, paper is faster for others.I've probably made at least a dozen of these books. I cut the paper to size with a paper cutter, punched the holes with a hand paper punch (about 5 pages at a time), used a punch to round the outer corners of all the pages and the cover, made divider tabs for the months, and made tyvek envelopes with holes punched along the side to go at the back of the book for miscellaneous items.
This year I learned of a local company who, for a price, would cut a ream of paper to size (3 calendar book pages per 8½" x 11½" sheet) AND punch holes in all the pages AND include the wire bindings cut to size. I considered the cost of all of this and the time I spend to make one calendar book each year. Imagining a whole ream's worth of calendar pages ready for printing and binding almost made me giddy. It seemed like a dream come true.
And then I realized that having a whole ream of paper cut to size for calendar books would give me 1500 pages and allow me to make 18 books! Eighteen! I started to chuckle when the absurdity of having paper and bindings for 18 years' worth of books hit me. I'll be turning 70 in a few weeks. Will I still want calendar books like these when I'm 88? Will I even be able to make them at that age? Will I even be alive in 2038?
I had the whole ream cut and hole punched.
But the idea of longevity has been swirling around in my mind.
- How long will I live? Will I be alive in 18 years?
- How long will I be physically capable of creating these books?
- How long will I be mentally capable of creating these books?
- How long will I have a computer/computer program capable of making the calendar pages the way I want them? The longevity of computer programs seems to be decreasing quickly. Perhaps the old WordPerfect word processor I use will not be compatible with some new computer I'll need in a few years.
- Will we even be using computers in 18 years, or will we all be using small devices like cellphones and tablets?
- How long will my interest in jotting down to-do lists and appointments last?
- In 15 or 16 or 17 years, will I have finally converted to a digital calendar?
- And no, I'm not in the least concerned about the longevity of the paper in these books. They're for my use, not for posterity's sake. If they last longer than I do, my daughters will probably throw them away, or, if they look through them first, chuckle at what they find inside.
My most recent ancestors have lived only into their 70s or early 80s, but I have earlier ancestors who lived into their 90s. Am I as healthy as they were? Or are there other factors at play in their long lives?
We never know how long we'll live, what our life span will be, what we'll be able to accomplish in a lifetime or near the end of our lives. I guess, long or short life, the point is to live it, enjoy it, do our best and try to keep getting better from one day to the next. That's my plan. And I hope to continue making and using my paper calendar books.
Wishing you a long and happy life!
--Nancy.
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Thanks to medical improvements, many times my husband has been saved to continue life with me. The same may happen for you. He's had 2 back surgeries, has sleep apnea so uses a C-PAP to keep him breathing at night, and so many other things... you too CAN continue into your 90's with the right diet, exercise, and avoiding carcinogens like smoking and alcohol. I really liked this post, and wish you health!
ReplyDeleteThank you, QuiltGranma. So glad your husband is doing well. It's true that modern medicine and technology can help us live longer, as well as healthy self-care. Even so, we never know when the end of our days will be.
DeleteYears ago my aunt gave me a calendar that my husband and I loved. It was like a 3-ring binder, but smaller with many more rings. For several years she gave us the refills until finally the company didn't make them anymore. So I have been buying a spiral-bound calendar that looks similar to yours. Now when we go to our vacation home at the lake, we miss having our calendar. So often we say we need to get used to using the calendar on our phone, but do we? No - we NEED that paper calendar, I guess.
ReplyDeleteI think it's sad when companies discontinue making a favorite product. I can't imagine using the calendar on my phone, Wendy. I love the ease of paper and pencil. Yes, I NEED my paper calendar!
DeleteHow many meetings have you sat in, trying to schedule next month's meeting, while one member spent forever trying to figure out how to make his PDA or phone calendar work? Pocket calendars work all the time, at least if we have enough light to read them.
ReplyDeleteLast month my sister and I recently realized that we no longer memorize phone numbers, and we're stuck if we don't have our (powered-up) cell phones when we have a problem, even if others are willing to share their phones. A pocket calendar is where I kept my phone numbers in the past, but I got lazy a few years ago and neglected to write those in as I got new calendars. My sister and I got busy and started to fill in our current ones.
I have most of my phone numbers -- at least the important one -- in an address book section of my calendar book but there are plenty in my phone that I use occasionally that I haven't added to my addresses in my paper book. Thanks for the reminder to add them!
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