Although the ground still has remnants of snow, spring really is just around the corner. I’m sure most people are ready for it about now. It hasn’t been a very cold winter, but extremely wet, and dreary. I don’t know about you, but I tend to suffer from the end-of-the-winter-doldrums. Usually by February I’m feeling really down and my husband has to remind me of what time of year it is so I don’t feel like I am actually going crazy; I realize it’s just seasonal affective disorder. Then spring starts popping out all over and it’s like there’s a light at the end of the tunnel again.
This year, however, I do not feel such discontent. Others around me have mentioned that they feel it in the air, but it seems to have passed me by, or I it. Could it just be that my house is warmer in the winter? Yes, ever since we got that wood-burning furnace, winter has been a lot less stressful, but it’s more than that. I do believe that the reason I have been able to ward off the winter doldrums has been due to working on this website, the GrahamEditorial.com.
To share some on the personal side, when I was in college, some 20-something years ago (Ugh!), I wrote some poetry, which I would never even consider torturing you with, but it was the subject matter that is important. Even back then I was a big advocate on people getting involved, the public and our leaders educating and keeping informed of each other, and a community taking a stand for itself. I recently came across one of these poems and it struck me that I am now, 20-something years later, doing exactly what I should be doing, what I knew I was meant to do so long ago. Sometimes I think it’s too bad I didn’t start back then; I might have made something of myself, but then, I know it would not have been the same. I would not have had the passion for it and perseverance as I do now to go the long haul, to put in the time needed to succeed, by which I mean doing what I believe I am meant to be doing with my life while here on Earth.
If you haven’t noticed yet, the GrahamEditorial.com has a YouTube channel and has been slowly adding to the collection. All of these videos get embedded into posts on the website also. As of January 2013, the Graham County Board of Commissioner meeting is being videotaped each month, along with the workshop meeting prior and this month the Travel & Tourism Authority Board meetings will start being filmed also. There are some special meetings taped, such as the Forest Service Revision planning meeting held recently and the Pedestrian/Streetscape presentation, along with a taped live interview with one of our local leaders. The main reason for taping meetings is for those that are unable to attend but are still interested in what is happening, although it is already being found useful as a means of reference to double check what was said on an issue. Other videos are so people can get to know the leaders of our community. We have some great, interesting, intelligent people here in Graham County and I am really enjoying learning so much about them and my community and I guess I just think you may enjoy it too.
I hope you like the direction the GrahamEditorial.com is going. I wish it were able to pump out more articles and videos at a faster rate, but we all need to keep a balance between work and play and my work takes me to my home front and the wonderful responsibilities I have there, namely my family. With all the time and dedication it takes to nurture both endeavors it becomes hard to find that balance and so I have started taking a “Balancing the Body” class being offered at the Gleanings Foundation on Mtn. Creek Rd. I am hoping to find a balance in between the constant chaos that has become my life. It’s a happy chaos, but chaos none-the-less. To reduce that chaos, one must focus and rid our lives of clutter, whether it be stuff cluttering our house or stress in our lives, or emotions or constant mental clutter. After making a conscious effort to just attend these classes, the intention has become more and more evident in my life. Focus on the goal, reduce the stressful things, and clear the clutter.
You see, spring must be in the air, because spring cleaning is definitely on my mind, in all its wondrous aspects. Here’s to you having a clutter free spring too!
Lisa Russo Editor
**Thank you for supporting the GrahamEditorial.com by reading the posts and watching the videos. Don’t forget to LIKE us on Facebook; that way you’ll be notified each time a new post is published. Tell your Friends so they can check out the GrahamEditorial.com too. The more Graham County citizens that know the better the website can be, plus attendance at these county meetings might increase which is a real good thing.
Please don’t hesitate to leave your Comments either. Let your voice be heard. Read “Personal Responsibilities and Free Speech” and register to enter comments.**