There are many things I do well. Spending hours with my toes fidgeting in the sand as I stare out at the ocean. Spending the day with white knuckles wrapped around metal riding rollercoasters with my children. Or spending a fall Saturday screaming at a bunch of 19 year olds wearing the colors of my favorite college football team to “Git tuff, darn it!” Yes, although I do many things well, saying goodbye isn’t one of them.
            But there are times in life when you get that nudge in your gut that it’s best to scoop up your notebook paper, drop your pencils in their little zippered pouch, give that three-ring binder one last click and move from algebra to analytical geometry -- although you really are comfortable with your seat in algebra, your teacher’s voice, how her shoes always pick up a shade of her blouse and most of all, her forgiving grading curve.
            Now I’m not really going anywhere, I’m just vacating this space the Citizen has been so gracious to let me occupy for the last five years. It’s been a joy and a privilege to sit down for a few hours each week and share a glimpse of my view on life with you.
            Three children will be relieved. They won’t have to worry their latest trauma will be laid out for all to read -- especially my daughter who has discovered boys are not as gross as she was led to believe the first 10 years of life. Who worries about such things as lip gloss and if it's cool to admit you love Justin Bieber. But I’ll still need fodder to fill blog posts. I can hold that over their heads.
            This doesn’t mean I’m not going to write. What I’m going to write is in the good Lord’s hands and beginning to stir in the depths of the vast untapped regions of my imagination.
            No, I’m not the best with goodbyes yet I  know when it’s time to move on before I wear out my welcome and have to bear hearing people make uncomfortable phlegm-filled, clearing-their-throat gurgles as they stand beside me in line at the salad bar at Ingles.
             So with a lump in my throat and a wipe of my nose – I say farewell to my little spot in the Citizen. To those who enjoyed reading, I give you my heartfelt thanks. It’s been lonely at times, scary at times, but because of you, it’s been more fun for me than you’ll ever know.

Printed in July 7, 2011 edition