This is it, it’s getting closer and closer to D (delivery) day.
By the time you read this, I may already have a new addition to the family, or be in a hospital scared out of my mind bringing him or her into the world, or sitting at home eating and drinking disgusting concoctions of spicy food and/or castor oil to try and get the little one out.
After exactly six years of working for the Airdrie City View, I started my maternity leave on Sept. 26 in preparation for the due date of my first child on Oct. 10.
As much as I am looking forward to the next chapter of my life (that includes a cuddly little human), I am going to miss it around here. After being fully immersed in a community and (almost obsessively) knowing what is going on in and around town at almost all times, it will be odd to be “out of the loop.”
Once I get the hang of this mom thing and get into a routine, I have visions of obsessively checking Twitter, Facebook, our Airdrie City View and Rocky View Weekly websites and texting (increasingly annoyed) coworkers to get my “fix” of what’s going on around town.
I know I will have my hands full with my new addition, but after spending so long watching the City View grow and change from a locally owned paper, to taking over the Rocky View Weekly and creating Airdrie House & Home magazine from scratch, these publications feel a bit like my children.
Not to mention the huge changes I have seen over the years in the city and Rocky View County. I have seen the city of Airdrie grow from 34,000 to 54,000 people and the county grow from a population of about 32,000 to 38,000. I have worked with two councils/mayors/reeves for the villages/towns/cities and county we cover and made countless connections with residents from all walks of life with interesting and compelling stories to tell.
I consider myself blessed to be able to do something I love so much for so long while making a difference in the communities that receive our publications.
However, now it is time for a change in my personal and professional life. It is going to be a shift from editing and laying out to diapering and layettes.
Come to think of it, it may not be as different as originally thought. There may be a few similarities between my job as an editor and my new role as mom:
As an editor, I clean up reporter’s work and I hear there is a lot of cleaning involved in motherhood.
Along with my team, I work hard to make our product the best it can be and take pride in the final product when all the hard work pays off. I think this is similar to the (all-be-it temporary) satisfaction a mom gets after having a productive day of getting things done at home complete with a happy baby, clean house and delicious dinner ready before 9 p.m.
As a leader/manager, I try my hardest to teach the reporters in the newsroom and help them grow as writers by leading by example. As a mom, my primary job will be nurturing, teaching and let’s face it – growing my child into the best person they can be.
And if we are all perfectly honest, every one of us puts up with a little bit of – let’s call it excrement - in our jobs every now and then and we know moms are pros when it comes to cleaning that up.
Editor’s note:
We are happy to report, that Stacie and her husband welcomed a healthy baby girl to the family on Oct. 1
