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"Time to give up the land line," Cliff announced. "We don't need to pay double for phone service."

Give up the land line?

Our phone number for 30 years?

Say you don't mean it!

The calls I took:

From my brother: "Barb, Dad just died."

From my daughter: "He's born. His name is Mazen."

From my editor: "Barbara, we want to publish your picture book."

The calls I made:

To my husband: "There's water pouring down into the guest room. Will you come home? Fast!"

To the doctor: "My daughter fell out of her crib. I can't get her to stop crying."

To my Mom: "Laura finally chose a wedding dress. It's gorgeous!"

And if I could have a penny for every minute I spent as a young mom on that line, I'd be able to buy my own phone company. That line was a life line, especially after I got my first portable phone.

So give up the number?

919-732-3108?

I gave it up.

You can tell because I just wrote the number on the Internet.

Here it is again: 919-732-3108.

Gone.

My grief surprised Cliff. In fact, he had the number "frozen" for a month, I guess in case I didn't recover.

And I haven't.

I still miss 919-732-3108.

But hey, I still miss kindergarten art on the refrigerator and our first cat.

Time mellows loss.

With the money we save, maybe we can, among other projects, repaint the guest room. That water left some nasty spots, and by golly, it's only been 20-some years.

- Barbara Younger

Barbara Younger writers an upbeat, witty blog, Friend for the Ride: Encouraging Words for the Menopause and Midlife Roller Coaster. Healthline placed Friend for the Ride on its list of Best Menopause Blogs of 2013.