Thank you and see you later

Ask any of my friends and they’ll tell you—I’m all in for extending the party. The host will be like, “Hey, can you stay for one more…” and I don’t even know what they’re saying because I’ve just plopped down my bag and I’m running to do a cannonball into the pool, or wrestling the cork out of another bottle, or shuffling the cards for another hand. Maybe they’re asking me to stay for one more minute because they want me to take out the garbage, but I’m back in action.

Sitting around staring at my own face on Zoom for the last year has led to a lot of navel-gazing and googling what kind of eyebrows are on-trend these days. It’s been a devastating one for many, and though I’m lucky in a million ways, including the fact that my mom made it through the pandemic okay, my life has changed profoundly over the last 12 months, and I feel like I’ve grown a lot, not just in sweat pant size, but in other, internal ways.

This is my last issue of The Charlotte News. It breaks my heart to go—it was my dream job. I’ve loved every nature-photo submission, every secret text or phone call from brave people who needed to share information, the hot tips on everything from leash laws to municipal conflict of interest. I’ve appreciated all the emails and pats on the back in the grocery store, and I’m grateful for all the support and kind words I’ve received for the past two years from everyone who loved the paper and what I was trying to do here.

There are lovely writers who are kind people with big hearts who contribute to this paper, and the two women on staff work hard and deserve all the support they receive. Thanks again for all of your encouragement.