Lasting Impressions

As I wrote my final blog post at MyKawartha.com, there was a quiet exhale and a satisfied feeling of being able to wrap this experience up with a bow and call it "good enough". It was a wonderful and satisfying way to make an exit.

I've written for three other papers who have quietly made the decision to make changes with their publication which meant discontinuing my column. I received a politely worded email advising me of the change and my column just faded out of sight like many other seamless changes in the world. No big deal. That is just the way things are.

This time around, I was given permission to either continue writing for the month of May or I could stop immediately. I chose to write. Mostly because I wanted to say "Thank you" and "Good-bye".

When I was a mere column reader, our local paper ran a column which I fully identified with and I couldn't wait to read her weekly stories. They stopped running her column without any reason "why". I missed "Ruthe Stein" (yes, I found her name in among my writing material of the past). I identified with her. She made an impact on me. "She" was the reason I wished out loud that I would like to become a columnist one day.

I never forgot "Ruthe". She was one of those people who, unbeknownst to anyone but myself, made a lasting impact. I like to think all of us walk around completely unaware of some small impact we've made on others.

Every little action causes a ripple. Some ripples are bigger than others. Some ripples are positive, Others cause negative actions and reactions like a tidal wave. As I walk through today I'm going to keep this in mind. These little people I watch over are so sensitive to the "waves" of life. I'll focus on trying to make them positive and easy going.

In the meantime, here is my final "Thank you" and "Good bye" at MyKawartha.com:
http://www.mykawartha.com/blogs/post/6700450-thank-you-mykawartha/