It was a wonderful break

I rested. I recharged. I soaked in the time with my kids

For the first time in a long while, I had two solid weeks away from the grind. No council meetings. No angry phone calls. No one yelling at me about decisions. Just peace, quiet, and time with my boys before they scatter back to school. It felt like a gift I did not know I needed.

I had thought the time would be spent at home, catching my breath before what promises to be a busy fall. But at the last minute, I looked at my sons and asked if they wanted to go on a quick trip before school. They all shouted back “heck yes.” Yes, I pulled the mom guilt card, but it worked.

So this Friday we are heading to Spain. Once again I will be putting out the paper from Europe. This whole remote work is something else. We are heading to Barcelona and Mallorca, and as much as I am looking forward to seeing another country, I am more excited about spending over a week with all three of them. It is so rare these days that we are all in one place together.

Already I am dreading the day Quinn heads back to Edmonton where he lives with Aiden and Emily. To soften the blow, I did what moms do best: I cooked. And cooked. And cooked. I frantically filled my freezer with 40 family sized meals to send back with him. Fettuccine, spaghetti, chili, lasagna, pork chops. For someone who hates cooking, that is a lot of cooking. But I know that on the busiest of school nights, when they pull a meal out of the freezer and slide it in the oven, it will feel like a little piece of home. That matters to me.

Once we are back, my calendar is packed. Every month this fall I am on the road. New Orleans and Prince Edward Island for newspaper conferences. Then likely Australia, where I will speak to publishers about the class action lawsuit I am involved in. Busy is good. Busy keeps me sharp. Busy also makes me miss the boys a little less.

Closer to home, there is plenty happening at the Pass Herald. We are getting ready to unveil our new website. We worked with Norja at Colour Infusion to create it locally, and I cannot wait to show you what she has built. Alongside that, we are rolling out a new online digital newspaper through a Canadian company called Local Ink. If you remember the old ISSUU platform, this will feel similar, but far more professional. It is a modern virtual newsstand for newspapers that will be used by papers across Canada. I am thrilled we get to be a part of it.

The new e-edition will be consistent every week. It will land on Wednesdays, the colour will be…