Not good at good-bye

Off the Rails

Unlike singer Sam Smith, who has gotten too good at goodbyes, saying goodbye has never been a talent of mine. I try to avoid them as much as possible and because of that I have become a long-timer – long-time friend, long-time employee, long-time whatever.

It has been nearly eight years since I joined The Examiner staff, first as a freelance reporter and then moving up to being your editor for the past few years. I have enjoyed every moment of it and in the process this newspaper has become like my second child - a sometimes whiny, sometimes cranky, always demanding child. I have worked long and hard to bring you all a paper that meets not only my exacting standards, but yours as well, and I feel that we have succeeded – together, always together.

My son has grown up with and in this newspaper. He has slept on my office floor during late nights, traveled with me to every kind of event imaginable and even written a piece or two when deadlines demanded. When I started here, he was just a wee-babe in third-grade. Now, he is just one year away from leaving for places yet to be known for college and inevitable adulthood. It is with that in mind, that I have decided to step down from the paper to enjoy these last few precious moments of parenthood. I want to be active and present for all those “lasts” that occur in senior year and not worried about weekly deadlines.

When I say this paper and this community are family, I mean it. I have loved, laughed, rejoiced and cried with all of you at some point during this journey. We have seen incredible lows during flooding events, tragic deaths and immeasurable heart aches. We have soared through excitement, triumphs and rebirths. And there will be many more of each for those who come after me and sit at this desk. I wish I could take the time to personally meet and address each of you, so that I could give you a hug and say thank you for being a part of this crazy-beautiful part of my life, but, alas, there are too many of you.

The Examiner celebrates its 125th year of providing news to Grimes County in 2019 and I am proud to say we have never missed an edition. People have often asked me why I chose a newspaper, when my background was book editing, because “surely, newspapers are dying.” It is my opinion, bolstered by your continued and unwavering support, that local newspapers thrive when they connect with their community. We haven’t written the news in a detached, cold way. Everything we covered impacted our neighbors, our friends and our family and because of that we took pride in making sure every detail was correct and that we treated each incident with the utmost respect and dignity, regardless of the situation.

I pray that you continue to trust in the staff of The Examiner, as you have trusted me. Continue to give them your support and your thanks. We …. they are a small staff and they work day in and day out far harder than you can imagine.

Thank you for the journey, Grimes County, I love you all.