Picture the lamp in the window. You know the one. Fishnet stocking, black-satin high-heel shoe, topped with a lamp shade in all its glory in the front window. F-R-A-G-I-L-E. (And remember, you say that like, Frageelayyy).
The Nevada Press Awards will be published this week – they are releasing them in batches, making the announcements each day through Twitter, I mean X, and yesterday we got the great news that we won two awards, one for our Graduation Edition as a Special Project and one for Headline Writing. Leanna and Sylvia can get pretty clever sometimes.
This has been a long time coming. Every year for the past three award cycles, we’ve intended to enter the Better Newspaper Contest. And finally, this year, with the help of our scrappy little team of staff and volunteers, we managed to get several submissions entered. Never mind that we were in the middle of publishing this year’s Graduation Edition, putting our magazine together, moving our office into a storage shed and our homes, and, oh yeah, getting the paper out every week.
We did it! Teamwork makes the dream work, as Erin always says.
This reminds me of a funny thing that happened this week – I got accused and shamed. The words “Shame on you!” were used for being too busy. “Don’t wear being busy as a status symbol,” I was told.
Some things happen in life that do cause you to pause and ponder. Usually, it's sunsets or birds or bunnies, but in this case, it was the harsh words of someone I’m supposed to respect. In whatever form the pause comes, I am always grateful, so I have been thinking this through. And I’ve come out the other side feeling really, really good about where I am in life—zooming through it as we are right now.
One thing I’ve learned for sure about life is it is never the same. Sometimes, things are slow, peaceful, and enjoyable. Sometimes, though, it's high-octane, high-rev, massive productivity, and fun as heck. This happens to be one of those seasons of life.
What came to mind is the difference between “busy” and “industrious.” One day, during a really industrious period of life, one of my bosses told me to make sure I didn’t confuse motion with progress. And I’ve never forgotten that. We make things count around here. We don’t spin our wheels. When we move, it is intentional and with purpose.
And we “Truly take time to enjoy and appreciate the beauty of each day.” We’ve learned you don’t have to sit still to do that. You can carry a bouquet of roses to smell as you tear through the busy season – a stop is not always required to smell.
Colossians' cool scripture in the New Testament says, “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.” This newspaper project and my work at USDA for Rural Nevada have never been about a status symbol. What we do around here is our small part in leaving things better than we found them. And we do it for and with and by the grace of The Lord. We know and have always known His hand is in this.
So we thank Him pretty often, but just to make sure they know how much this means, I want to make sure to thank our staff and volunteers, too. Publicly. Again and again. There will never be enough gratitude for all they do and all the support you readers give us. Just know we here at The Post live in a constant state of appreciation for the challenges and the joy that making this paper has been, is, and continues to be. Thank you.
So while we enjoy our metaphorical lamp, we’ll be right here, busily writing winning headlines and publishing special projects, all in the effort of…
… Keeping you Posted
Rach
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