After a little over five years and 250 articles, I am going to call it quits with A New Lens! I love to write and have received lots of positive feedback over the year’s but it’s time to turn it over to the many new columnists the Review has been fortunate to snag. My original intent with the column was to bring a new perspective to life in northeast South Dakota. There is so much to love and appreciate about living in the Midwest which is something I had forgotten or never really understood living most of my adult life elsewhere. I was filled with so much awe and joy when I first started spending summers back in the area 8 years ago and wanted to share what a great place it is to live in which I think I successfully did early on in the life of the column. I then moved on to numerous topics including: travel, flora/fauna, weather, gardening/canning, cooking/baking, quilting/weaving , family/friends and finally ending up with the telling of numerous health challenges, especially this past year. There were lots of lake life challenges, neighborhood adventures and fun and frolic woven into the mix along the way and my overall synopsis is “retirement life being well lived.” What else can one ask for, right?
I still love spending time at the lake so I’m not going anywhere, even though my husband, more often than not, is off in parts unknown hiking to his heart’s content. I love the life I have carved out here with both new and old friends and now mom living in the area as well. My weaving studio remains cocooned in my living room and my weaving coach is in the area as well. I have my seasonal produce sources locked up and might even have my yard care challenges slayed. I am planning a trip back in January to visit mom and I am sure there will be stories to tell but you all, if not happily at least successfully, confront the annual winter challenges of cold temperatures, scary wind chills, snow shoveling and white knuckle driving quite well. Happy New Year and cheers to life in the Midwest!