Speaking of telephone numbers

A new telephone directory arrived in our mailbox yesterday. And it has my name in it! I'm so excited.

I wonder how long it has been since I first requested that my name be included in the listing? What prompted the request was my in-laws moving to town. That was nine years ago. They sometimes get calls intended for me because the caller isn't sure of my husband's name and picks the wrong number.

It's been a long journey. At least twice I called the phone company and was told it was too late for the directory already in process. That's all right, I told them. Just change it for the next one. Another year would pass after the arrival of that in-process directory and I would discover the change had not been made. However, instead of calling immediately, I'd forget about it until it was once again too late to catch the next publication. Finally, I requested the change, waited a couple of weeks and verified that 'information' could come up with a number to match my name. Still I couldn't be sure until I actually saw it in print.

I feel so much more like a real person now.