It was about this time a couple of weeks ago I sat at my desk, checking my calendar and scribbling notes when it hit me — it’s that time of the year.
Following Election Day, we’re seemingly launched into a holiday and end-of-the-year preparation frenzy with a litany of to-dos and events. And that’s no overstatement — after staying up until around 3 a.m. the night of the election (or Wednesday morning, more accurately), I woke up to a text message from a sibling asking when I planned to travel for Thanksgiving. I was not particularly apt to answer that question at the moment.
Our N-B team, in particular, finds ourselves spread even a bit thinner as we also adjust our coverage without Sydney Kent.
We’re thrilled about her new role with the YWCA of Northeast Indiana, despite our sadness to see her go. If a quick search of our archive is correct, Sydney and I directly worked on a few dozen stories together during her time at the N-B — the coffees, conversation and encouragement are a bit harder to quantify.
You may still see Sydney’s byline for the occasional tear-jerking feature, but I’m sure her puns will be sorely missed from the Police Notebook.
All that said, this season does bring a lot of “good busy,” so to speak.
While I lamented a particularly late night at the office earlier this week, I was nonetheless excited to head over to an elementary classroom first thing the next morning for an upcoming Thanksgiving story. There’s also great fun in these end-of-the-year staple stories, like recent teachers of the year coverage, which are often uplifting and downright sappy.
Of course, the recent decoration of Bluffton’s “Merry Christmas” sign and snowflakes signal that Parlor City Christmas, Christmas At the Mansion, and other exciting events are just down the road. That may sound appalling for the holiday season purists — and surely there is too early of a time to think about Christmas — but I like to think harvesttime thankfulness and Christmas joy can co-exist.
Things are busy, but all sorts of “good busy.” Before we know it, we’ll be putting together our top stories of the year.
And though I’ve grumbled about my to-do list much of this week, it will likely be forgotten next week somewhere between baking pies with my mom and sisters and the (hopefully) good-natured chaos of nine nieces and nephews running around in one house.
It’s that time of year, and I’m glad.
holly@news-banner.com
