I think I’ve written about this before a while back, but it hit me again hard this week. It’s March already and getting time for Daylight Savings Time, and just yesterday we printed the New Year’s Eve party pictures on the front page of the paper. How does it happen that time goes by so fast???
It made me think of when I was raising children and everything revolved around birthdays, sports seasons, and the first day of school. Or working for economic development and everything we did revolve around our monthly meeting. Reporting to our board, finding a guest speaker, sending out notices. Of course, we had all the rest of our tasks and projects, but we really kept time by board meetings. And I would think – living like this makes time go by so fast. It’s January and then all of a sudden November and time for the annual meeting.
But now, NOW…dang. At the newspaper, everything we do is driven by getting the paper out on Friday. We think of everything based around February 28, March 4, and now March 11. Thank goodness for Mrs. West in 4th grade and the sevens times tables.
We think in terms of story budget for everything. What goes in this week and then we roll what didn’t fit to the 18th, and the 25th. We are grateful for the website and being able to post daily. It’s the one thing that brings normalcy.
We’re also getting back to the place we can start thinking about our monthly product. Everyone on staff is starting to think in terms of graduation, back to school, and Cantaloupe Festival. And then we’re at September and the year is almost gone.
When I was little, my Gramma Shirley would start Christmas shopping in October. Before we even had Halloween. That always seemed really weird to me, and over the years, quite impressive. But now I finally understand – things come at you fast when you’re a grownup and you need to get ready, the walker and the rest home will be here before you know it.
It's time (no pun intended) to slow down.
We have been building a little team the past few weeks here at the Post. Like the singer introduces the band during a concert, let me say: on books we have Erin, on writing we have the fantastic duo, Leanna and Jo, there’s Robert in the back leading up on editing, Laura in Texas doing layout, Jennifer is handling our advertising, and there’s Jim following us all around facilitating every little thing we need and making the actual printing actually work.
It has been a special kind of crazy getting everyone speaking the same language, playing from the same sheet. Synchronized, so to speak, like Esther Williams. But man… every day this little team is better and better, and it is a thing of beauty to watch this crew learn and grow together. It’s fun to watch everyone look rested, and it’s really fun to see what happens when an overworked, rundown brain gets some relief. The ideas that bloom and the work that gets produced are what we have wanted to be for a very long time.
So, while we welcome our newest family members and split all these tasks, and take advantage of having a little more slow time, we will be right here, all of us…
…keeping you Posted.
Rach
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