Last week I lost something that is the very glue that holds my life together—my monthly planner.

I shudder to think of it now, but for 24 hours I was completely lost. Did I have a doctor’s appointment? An event at one of the girl’s schools? A birthday? Did I have two or three kids? What’s my name again? WHO WAS I?

My planner is where I write down everything, from soccer practices and Girl Scout troop meetings to work appointments and dental cleanings.

And yes I see the irony in the fact that I’m very plugged into social media and all things online but I still hang on to an ancient organizational relic, the written calendar. I cling to the notion of writing in a paper planner like I cling to the notion that CDs are the only way to listen to music. I carry it around like it’s my mom Bible. Hubby and I do share a Google online calendar for family appointments and obligations, but I keep track of all my deadlines and appointments in my planner. It’s as if the physical act of writing things down helps me remember it.

After consoling myself with chocolate and wine and telling myself repeatedly that my planner had to be somewhere in the house and that I’d eventually come across it, I finally found it on the floor below our breakfast bar the next morning. It had fallen out of my work bag.

The universe righted itself and I breathed a huge sigh of relief. A mom and her planner must never part ways. That’s why I’m sleeping with my planner beneath my pillow every night. OK, so not really but don’t think I haven’t thought about it.

I love you planner. You keep me sane.

Do you use a paper planner? How do you keep track of all your work and life appointments?