Keep the conversation going

I was new in town and newly divorced. After working as a reporter post-college, I'd been a stay-at-home mom for more than a decade. Now I was a single mom needing to make money to support my family — and my most recent skill was organizing bake sales.

“Why don't you work at a newspaper again?” said a longtime friend. “That's what you like doing.”

Make an appointment with the editor, my friend said. Don't ask for a job. Instead, explain your situation, say you want to get back into newspapers and ask for advice.

So that's why, almost 15 years ago, I was nervously heading into the TimesDaily office of Executive Editor Kathy Silverberg — and heading out a few minutes later with a job.

At first, that job didn't bring me back to the newspaper office much: I wrote articles about local businesses for advertisements and special sections.

Then, Kathy asked me to work part time doing things nobody else liked doing: Writing weddings, logging in calendar events, retyping columns. But I loved it.

I enjoyed being part of the newspaper family. My identification badge became a prized possession.

Soon I was part-time permanent. Then full-time temporary. And finally, permanent full time. With each move, I wrote more and typed less. A couple of years after my first timid walk into the newsroom, I was a real reporter.

And, amazingly, I was a columnist, too.

I remember I'd written some column-like articles for the Lifestyle pages and felt that tingle you get that means “This is a good thing.” I'm not sure my then-editor ever

officially approved a column — one day I simply said, “Here's my column” and she said, “OK. Thanks,” and that was that.

I'm eternally grateful she said “OK,” because writing this column has been an honor, a privilege and an incredible amount of fun.

But, sadly, this is my last one for the TimesDaily.

There's only one thing left to say: Thank you.

Thank you for spending time with me every week. Thank you for the messages. Thank you for hanging with me through weddings, graduations and band-booster meetings. Thank you for the shoe shopping, the football games and the tips on husband training.

Thank you for being there during laughter, tears, celebrations and losses.

Plenty of adventures are ahead, so visit my blog, Coffee with Cathy, at cathylwood.wordpress.com. Pour a cup, sit down and let's keep the conversation going.

You won't believe what 3-year-old grandson Capt. Adorable said the other day.

Source http://www.timesdaily.com/