Don’t toss out the 2017 calendar just yet

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This is not an “advice” article; it’s more like a “suggestion” article. If you are like a lot of the older generation, you may have a calendar on your refrigerator door in your kitchen. Not everyone would choose to use this spot for a monthly calendar, but it works for me. When I look at my 2017 calendar, I see pages of important information I may need in the coming year of 2018. We use our calendar for all doctors’ visits, wellness check-ups, as well as all other important appointments.

A new big magnetic clip has recently been added to our refrigerator door. It holds all the important information needed by any EMS person who may come to our house. If we are unconscious, they know to look on the door of the refrigerator where they will find said information. It even reflects a blue light, if a flashlight is being used to find it.

An additional use of the calendar, with the one-inch squares, is for meetings or lunches with friends. Two or three times a year, George does the chores at another farm while the owner is on vacation. Right now, he has marked off nine straight days to do morning and evening chores for a friend who is out west visiting her grandchildren for Christmas. These are in addition to doing all his own chores, too.

For any of the next year’s appointments that are already made, I make note of them at the bottom of the December page of each year’s calendar. That way, just before beginning use of a new calendar, I transfer all the appointments already made, onto the next year’s calendar.

In addition to the monthly calendar, I also have a magnetic clothespin on the refrigerator door. It holds all of those 2-inch by 3-inch cards that receptionists give us for future appointments. One of our appointments already goes as far into the future as November of 2018. Each time we get one, I put it in the order of the date of appointment, and clamp them together with that one clothespin. Not only are they a reminder of the future date, but each card has the phone number of the doctor on it. This way, when you leave the house for the appointment, you will know right where that card is to take with you. And, in case you are running late, you can call. Or, call if it’s a new address and you are having trouble finding it.

All family and friends’ birthdays are on the calendar, along with dates when some of our monthly bills are due. This way, George can fine a good day to get sawdust, or to know when he can go to Amish country to get Simon, to bring him here for a day of shoeing the horses. Also, to not only know when a repair person will arrive, but to be able to go back and see when they had previously been here. Many times I have watched as George stands at the refrigerator (door shut) looking for what we call “free days,” so as not to conflict with other appointments. I have even marked when election days are, when to get a flu shot, when to renew my driver’s license, as well as when to take the turkey out of the freezer.

I am very aware that some of you may have all this information in your iPhone. You may be thinking the older generation is living in the past (which really isn’t such a bad place to be these days). Maybe we come under the heading of “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Maybe someday in the future, it will be “broke,” and we will have to “fix it.” But for now, I’ll just use my “no stress” paper calendar that’s on the refrigerator door in the kitchen.

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By Kay Conklin

Contributing columnist

Kay E. Conklin is a retired Delaware County recorder who served four terms. She graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University with a degree in sociology and anthropology.

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