Pic of the Week

Wow, it’s the LAST pic of the week for 2014! It’s hard to believe I actually have 52 pictures that represent my year — one full of nothing and something all at once. I really thought I was going to have something representative for this last one, but when this magazine came to my mailbox, I knew it had to be a part of my picture collection.

The magazine itself was no surprise, as it comes every month. The surprise was that on the cover, it said it was the “Farewell” issue. What?

Inside, sure enough, was a goodbye letter from it’s Founder and Editor, Nancy. I swear I’m not emotional about all publications (although print publication DOES hold a pretty big place in my heart), but this is one that I wrote for… for a few years.

I applied for a contributing writer position to House & Home several years ago when my then-job was doing lay-offs. I had no financial stability, a very tiny savings account, and I was scared to death. I was looking for any work that would help me save some money. Luckily, House & Home answered my call.

While I’ve always had an interest in homes and interior decor, I didn’t know much about it. So, when I had my first interview with homebuilders, I didn’t even know what to ask! I got humble and told them the truth: that I wasn’t sure what I was doing.

They were polite and helped me, and before I knew it, I could tell the difference between concrete slab flooring and tumbled travertine. I came to admire various veins in marble countertops, and learned to write 2,000-word stories out of bathroom designs.

It was the first time I’d ever seen my stories on the cover of a magazine, and it was a beautiful, glossy one. It was really a pleasure writing for House & Home, and I was lucky enough to do it for many years. It filled my portfolio with more stories, and the paychecks helped me save money during a time of financial stress. I am really grateful for that job.

While it’s saddening to see the publication go, I admire Nancy for making such a tough decision. I’m learning every day how to let things go as gracefully as possible. I feel like I’ve said a lot of goodbyes this year — ones I didn’t necessarily want to. But I’m hoping that 2015 will show me that saying goodbye isn’t always a bad thing.