I am writing this editorial at 9:20 p.m. on Thursday with one contact lens in and the other somehow torn straight down the center, landing it in the trash.
It’s getting to be the tail end of a week in which I’ve had to swap my ankle stabilizer from left leg to right and back again because, apparently, my tendonitis thinks the burgeoning spring season marks a swell time to act up. We’re also set to wrap up a week of significant changes in our daily workflow, which despite weeks of planning and preparation, have been the proof in the “change is hard” pudding.
I wasn’t even sure I was going to have a chance to write this week. But it’s important to me that I do, because I want you to know what’s going on here inside these walls as well as inside these pages, and because I think some of you, for some reason, actually enjoy reading these words of mine.
I promise I won’t let it go to my head. Or if I do, someone else will set me to rights quickly enough.
Anyhow, despite these “hard changes,” which involve the way the individual pages of this newspaper are built, I am encouraged. Once we find our rhythm with this new process, I think we will have some extra room for creative engagement, and I have some really neat ideas – or, at least I think they’re neat – for feature campaigns. But first, we have to find our rhythm.
Which is why I’m writing this at 9:20 p.m. on a Thursday night. My schedule is looking a little backward from what it has been. We can’t work as we go anymore with this new process, so we have to have everything ready first thing in the morning. And given that I can just as easily wake up at 7:30 a.m. as 3 a.m., and there’s generally no telling which it’s going to be, I’d rather play it safe and have the bulk of it done the night before.
Also, if you happen to notice that things look a little strange or different than they have been, that’s all a part of this process, too. In the end, I think it will work out very well, but as with any transition, we’ll have some wrinkles to smooth out along the way.
I’m glad to have you along for the ride!
Oh, and before I forget – next week is the first Downtown Stroll, happening from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday. It will be held the first Thursday of every month. Not only will the Quill be participating, we will also have a brand-new window display featuring the artworks of some very creative students at His Place Christian Academy. The display kicks off a series of rotating art exhibitions we will feature in our front window. We would love for you to stop by and see us and enjoy the art.
