One year and counting

It doesn’t seem possible, that this is the issue that marks one year on the job for us. But, that’s exactly what it is.
Last Dec. 8, my wife, Jessica and I, wrote our first stories as a new sports duo and were a bit nervous about it.  Now, 51 issues later, it comes as second nature to write stories about games and events we watch.
We have learned so much about sports, writing and ourselves along the way, and we wouldn’t trade any experiences for anything. When we were first pitched the idea of becoming sports writers, we were in a state of almost amazement.
Amazed at the fact that we were even asked to do something we had never even considered. After careful consideration we accepted, and I’m glad we did.
As I reflect back over our one year on the job, I am reminded of all of the things we have had the opportunity to see and do. We learned that sports in Marion County are very busy, to say the least. What I mean by that is that there are very few nights where we are not doing something related to the job. There are however a few times throughout the year where the sports happenings can get somewhat slim and we have to search high and low to fill space.
Last December, I wasn’t sure if I could write anything to a level that people would want to read it. I wasn’t a big fan of writing in school, and never thought I would find a job that required me to write as the basic job necessity.  I remember writing papers in college and how much I hated it. It’s still not my favorite part of the job, but it has gradually gotten easier for me to express my thoughts into words now.
We also learned that we can find time that we thought we never had before. By that I mean most nights we rush home from our other jobs, grab a quick shower, change clothes, and head out to a ballgame. Before this job we would come home and would somehow seem to fill our nights with other work around the house. Now we have found the secret to balancing all the work at home, covering sports, and spending time with our 2-year-old daughter, Karli.
If someone had asked either of us 10 years ago if we thought someday we would be writing the sports section for The Lebanon Enterprise, we probably would have laughed and not given it any thought. Well, that changed, and in a hurry. Now that we have experienced one full year on the job, there are so many things that I feel blessed to have taken part in. If we had not accepted this position last December, our lives would be different, but we would have missed so much.
To those people who thought we had what it took to do this job, even when we didn’t, we want to thank you. You apparently believed in us before we did, and without your support we would not be where we are today. As I have said before, this is the best job in Marion County and we truly love what we do. Looking forward to the years to come.