The practice of writing an old-fashioned, snail-mail letter is a bit of a lost art.
I've been writing letters daily since my son entered Army basic training a couple of weeks ago, and I've come to discover and couple of things. First, my personal life is quite boring. Second, I'm not used to writing anything that's meant to be other than concise.
So, letters to my son have had to include material not about my immediate life, but about all sorts of things, including family history, old sports stories, memories of him growing up, and other things that take more than 140 characters to describe.
I've been able to write a three- or four-page letter every day using this formula. This is in addition to writing my column here for the Monroe Times and the untold number of emails I write to help keep myself focused in the office and explain some of what we do to the community. I do a lot of writing, and I enjoy it.
I've discovered much by writing letters.
There have been an enormous number of changes or events in my life since last October. I've left one job for another, I've split my family in order to take that job and allow my sons to graduate from high schools of their choice, I've moved, my mother passed away in late December, I was in an automobile accident in February, I've taken on new volunteer commitments, and I've met a whole bunch of new colleagues and friends.
Change can be good in a person's life. Change can also be stressful. I've learned that I cannot control everything that happens each day, and I have to take whatever happens with as much grace as I can muster.
I've been helped in my changing life journey by my wife, my employer and God, to whom I pray regularly for strength and understanding.
In my job, I'm trying to change the culture of our newspaper, the Monroe Times, to include more local news and coverage of local events.
I think our staff was good at local coverage before I arrived, but we would certainly like to remove some of the pages of Associated Press copy and replace it with local stories and photos. This is why one of my first messages to the community was asking readers to please send in their news.
You can send in four-generation photos, pictures of youth sports teams, notes from family reunions, reports on college dean's lists, birth announcements, press releases on nonprofit events, photographs of activities involving 4-H, Scouts and other youth extracurriculars, etc. All of these things are local news and we want to print them. Just email them to our news clerk Mary Zierold at newsclerk@themonroetimes.com. Please include your name and a daytime phone number where we can reach you if we have questions.
In writing this column, some of my favorite pieces to date have been about the early history of places like New Glarus and education in Green County. There is a great deal of interest in history throughout Green County. People enjoy learning more about their heritage. But if your family is not native to Green County, that doesn't mean that you have no interest in the history of the place you currently call home.
When it came to letter-writing to my son I thought I would soon run out of letter ideas. It turns out that by looking back at family history, I can come up with an anecdote or two to help fill out each letter.
Parents, who have had their children grow up and move out to jobs or college, have gone through what I'm going through now. I'm an empty nester for the next two months. I've enjoyed being around my son and his friends so much over the years that this is a big change for me. But my tactic is to fill the void with volunteerism and the help of my wonderful wife.
I've certainly entered a new age in my life. I feel lucky to be surrounded with the resources and help to adjust and get attuned to it all.
I know why some people move regularly throughout their lives and also why some people never leave home. I don't think there is a "right" life to lead when it comes to where you have to live. Some people must move regularly to keep climbing the job ladder. Other people try to improve their job situation locally throughout their whole life, because they have no intention of leaving the place they call "home." Each individual must do what's right for them and their family.
- Matt Johnson is publisher of the Monroe Times. His column is published Wednesdays.
I've been writing letters daily since my son entered Army basic training a couple of weeks ago, and I've come to discover and couple of things. First, my personal life is quite boring. Second, I'm not used to writing anything that's meant to be other than concise.
So, letters to my son have had to include material not about my immediate life, but about all sorts of things, including family history, old sports stories, memories of him growing up, and other things that take more than 140 characters to describe.
I've been able to write a three- or four-page letter every day using this formula. This is in addition to writing my column here for the Monroe Times and the untold number of emails I write to help keep myself focused in the office and explain some of what we do to the community. I do a lot of writing, and I enjoy it.
I've discovered much by writing letters.
There have been an enormous number of changes or events in my life since last October. I've left one job for another, I've split my family in order to take that job and allow my sons to graduate from high schools of their choice, I've moved, my mother passed away in late December, I was in an automobile accident in February, I've taken on new volunteer commitments, and I've met a whole bunch of new colleagues and friends.
Change can be good in a person's life. Change can also be stressful. I've learned that I cannot control everything that happens each day, and I have to take whatever happens with as much grace as I can muster.
I've been helped in my changing life journey by my wife, my employer and God, to whom I pray regularly for strength and understanding.
In my job, I'm trying to change the culture of our newspaper, the Monroe Times, to include more local news and coverage of local events.
I think our staff was good at local coverage before I arrived, but we would certainly like to remove some of the pages of Associated Press copy and replace it with local stories and photos. This is why one of my first messages to the community was asking readers to please send in their news.
You can send in four-generation photos, pictures of youth sports teams, notes from family reunions, reports on college dean's lists, birth announcements, press releases on nonprofit events, photographs of activities involving 4-H, Scouts and other youth extracurriculars, etc. All of these things are local news and we want to print them. Just email them to our news clerk Mary Zierold at newsclerk@themonroetimes.com. Please include your name and a daytime phone number where we can reach you if we have questions.
In writing this column, some of my favorite pieces to date have been about the early history of places like New Glarus and education in Green County. There is a great deal of interest in history throughout Green County. People enjoy learning more about their heritage. But if your family is not native to Green County, that doesn't mean that you have no interest in the history of the place you currently call home.
When it came to letter-writing to my son I thought I would soon run out of letter ideas. It turns out that by looking back at family history, I can come up with an anecdote or two to help fill out each letter.
Parents, who have had their children grow up and move out to jobs or college, have gone through what I'm going through now. I'm an empty nester for the next two months. I've enjoyed being around my son and his friends so much over the years that this is a big change for me. But my tactic is to fill the void with volunteerism and the help of my wonderful wife.
I've certainly entered a new age in my life. I feel lucky to be surrounded with the resources and help to adjust and get attuned to it all.
I know why some people move regularly throughout their lives and also why some people never leave home. I don't think there is a "right" life to lead when it comes to where you have to live. Some people must move regularly to keep climbing the job ladder. Other people try to improve their job situation locally throughout their whole life, because they have no intention of leaving the place they call "home." Each individual must do what's right for them and their family.
- Matt Johnson is publisher of the Monroe Times. His column is published Wednesdays.
