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Today was a life-changing day.
Sitting here, at a loss for words, I find it very ironic.
Words are what I live and breathe. It is the very essence of what makes up the job I do. But oddly enough, when it comes time to say Goodbye, somehow anything you can come up with to say just doesn’t feel like enough.
My time here in Jessamine County has come to a close. Today, I took a fellow colleague around town and introduced her to many people I have come to call friends here in Jessamine County. I showed her where all the important stops are and what to expect certain days of the week. But none of that felt as surreal as when I finished typing my last article a few moments ago and moved on, beginning work on one of the last pieces I will ever touch here in Jessamine County. My goodbye column.
After some many tough conversations with my friends and family, and after a lot of soul searching myself, I have accepted a new position that takes me away from the newspaper business altogether. Even more, it takes me away from a community that has felt like my second home over these last two years as everyone in town welcomed me into their lives to share the stories of what makes you great.
I will never forget my time here in Jessamine County, and like I told many people I stopped in to see today, I will be back. After all, once you have accepted a role in a community like I have, you never truly walk away.
Sure, in the future those who know me won’t see me hiding behind a camera at local events or taking notes at city council and fiscal court meetings, but walking away completely when you have become a part of something so special, a community of amazing people, that is just something I will never have the heart to do.
The toughest part? After you make a decision to move forward, how do you keep one foot in your past.
You don’t. It’s impossible. And that is where my heart breaks leaving.
Even though I will pass back through in the future, I won’t drive up and down Main Street daily, and my byline in the weekly newspaper will be tossed aside like many others who have sat in my chair over the years before me.
To say I’ll remember my time here throughout my life is an understatement. I will always remember the boss who gave me a job with the worst resume ever. I will always remember the people that welcomed me into their lives and hearts and quickly carved out time to show me around town when I took my position two years ago. I will take all the St. Nich Fests and summer, fall and spring events with me and lovingly store them away in my memory. For once you become a part of something as special as this community, the only way you keep living is to hold it close and never let it go.
Thank you Jessamine County. From the bottom of my heart. I may be gone, but you will never be forgotten.