|
|
We
welcome your letter to the editor.
Letters
should be no longer than 300 words and must be signed and include
a phone number. Longer letters may be edited for clarity and space.
Submissions should be typewritten if possible.
Deadline
for submission is noon on Monday.
Perspectives
Patti M.
Clark
Editor
Summer’s
finally here, I’m so glad
My kids got off the bus Friday afternoon,
slung their backpacks in the closet and spread themselves across
the couch.
Another school year done.
Another school year complete.
Another summer just started.
I’m as relieved as they are.
Many parents dread the long days of summer, with kids complaining
they are bored and have nothing to do.
Not me.
I, for one, love the more relaxed nature of summer. We all get
to sleep just a little bit later. We can stay up later too and
enjoy the longer days and those cool summer nights. We have time
to sit in the swing on the front porch and just talk, or enjoy
the deck after the sun goes down.
There’s more time for family activities and it just seems
that everyone is a little more laid back.
After the month of May we all need this.
For parents, May is like the Olympics of the school year. Between
awards ceremonies and banquets and other events that fill the
days as school winds to a close we all try to squeeze in all the
regular activities as well.
I know at our house we all stopped in front of the refrigerator
door one day and pointed to one Thursday during the month. It
was the only day on the calendar that someone didn’t have
something scheduled in the afternoon or evening. All the other
days were filled with this activity or that one — and on
one Monday night, there were four.
In addition to all the school activities for the kids, May is
a busy month at The News-Herald as well. We just published the
graduation section, and the fair book comes out June 7. Those
are in addition to covering the primary election, handling the
additional information that comes from end-of-the-year activities
and just a general increase in activities in the community as
residents finally wake up from the winter’s hibernation.
We, as a staff, are also usually glad when May 31 comes and goes.
We’ve been known to have “We Made It Through May”
parties in the past.
One of the best parts of summer arrived in the office last Monday.
Maggie Williams returned home from college and will be working
as a staff writer with us. She’s excited to be home after
spending the school year in Virginia at Randolph Macon, and you’ll
see her face around town over the next few weeks.
When she leaves us in August, she’ll be heading for a year
abroad. Maggie will spend her junior year studying in London.
In addition, Glypie Grider will return to the staff for a few
weeks in July to help cover the fair and vacations planned in
that time frame.
Glypie, like Maggie, has been away at school. She attends University
of Louisville and just returned from a trip to Rome, Scotland
and other points on that side of the world. This week, she’s
flying to China where she’ll study for the month of June.
Glypie will start her senior year at U of L in the fall.
Both will help ease the writing load during the summer and will
give the paper a chance to cover some events that we might not
be able to get to with our regular staff.
If you know of something that’s happening or a topic you’d
like us to look into, let me know and we’ll see if we can
make it happen. You can reach me at 484-3431 or via e-mail at
nheditor@bellsouth.net.
In the meantime, enjoy your summer. Take some time for a picnic,
a swim at the lake, some homemade ice cream and just a chance
to sit and talk with those you love. Clean off your calendars
and make room for some of the stuff that will matter in the long
run.
I promise, you’ll be glad you did.
|
