Why I Still Have a 423 Area Code

My dad and I in 2019 at the retirement home.

If you’ve ever noticed that my phone number has a 423 area code, you might have wondered why. After all, I live and work in Longmont, Colorado, helping people organize their homes, pack for moves, and reclaim their spaces. But that number? It’s the one sentimental thing I’ve held onto. And it’s all because of my dad.

My dad’s life wasn’t easy. He struggled for many years with alcohol and drug addiction. He spent time in and out of rehab programs and lived in homeless shelters more than once. There were long stretches when I wasn't sure where he was or how he was doing. But through all the instability, there was one constant, he always remembered my phone number.

That 423 number became our lifeline. No matter how chaotic things got, it was the one piece of stability between us. It didn’t matter if he had lost his wallet or didn’t have a place to sleep. He could still pick up a phone and reach me. I can’t count the number of times I saw that area code pop up and knew it was him, reaching out, holding on in the only way he could.

When he passed away in August of 2023, it felt like I lost that connection. But I couldn’t bring myself to change my number. It might sound simple, but for me, it’s a thread that ties me to him. It reminds me of the moments we did share, the love that was always there beneath the struggle, and the power of being reachable to someone who needed it most.

As a professional organizer, I help people let go of the things that no longer serve them, things that weigh them down, clutter their space, or hold them back. But I also know that some things are worth holding onto. For me, this number is one of them. It’s a small, quiet act of remembrance that keeps a piece of my dad with me.

So if you ever wonder why my number doesn’t “match” where I live, it’s because love, loss, and memory don’t follow zip codes. They live in the places that matter most, even if it’s a simple three-digit area code.