Moving On But Not Away

Today is my last day at SB. I'm not sure if you're supposed to feel busy on your last day at work, but I certainly do. I have a feature story to write. My office needs to be packed. I need to download all the stuff on my computer onto a portable hard drive. And I'm going to lunch with the staff in a little over an hour. I'm thinking I'll eat Shrimp Aurora. Why not indulge on my final day?

I've been at SB a little less than a year. At the time, I was looking to get out of the newspaper world. For personal reasons more than professional ones. I loved my job. I hope one day to love a job as much as I loved that one. But I didn't want to be my job, and it felt that's what the job required.

So, I came to SB. I moved up the food chain, becoming the editor here, and the magazine began to morph into whatever I could dream it to be. I love to create and those days were very exciting. Mike (the publisher) and I would go to the park at Norton Art Gallery and brainstorm and plan and think. And then we brought it to life. A new look. A new way of telling stories. An attempt at reaching a new audience while captivating the one we already had. In any job, I'm most satisfied when I can see the results of hard, honest work. And at that time, I did.

But I began to ask myself, "Am I doing anything new? Am I challenging myself?" If I was being honest with myself, although this was exciting, it was nothing new. I'd done this before with the Preview section at The Times. It felt stagnant and I needed a new challenge.

There's no question that I love Shreveport. I love having my family close and, truthfully, if I were going to move, I'd probably have to stuff Ty into a suitcase and force him to come along. And I'd never want to go anywhere without him. My life is here, and I wouldn't want to share it with anyone else.

So, as I considered my official settling in (although I've actually been settled here my entire life), I began to realize my options were running low. I've worked at The Times and SB. I wasn't interested in TV about two years ago when I was approached, not interested now. I get very awkward in front of a camera. What could I do that would allow me to create, write, meet new people and be successful in Shreveport-Bossier?

Marketing seemed to afford me those opportunities. I applied for a job and heard nothing. ... for a while. Weeks went by, and at the moment it began to slip from my mind, my phone rang. I went on an interview and loved the people and the place. Absolutely worth the 30 minute drive to and from work every day.

I can work hard, but I can't take credit for the right decisions at the right time. Never so strongly have I felt God's hand in my life. Opportunities coming at the right time. Doors closing and others opening. The timing is so perfect that it could never be my own.