I am retiring.
It was a very hard decision to make, but it’s time. My last official day as a full-time reporter is Monday, April 11.
I love my job; I love being a reporter. Asking questions is as natural to me as breathing, so getting paid to go out into the community and ask people a zillion questions and get a salary for it has been a dream come true.
Over the last 31 years, I’ve interviewed politicians, musicians, artists, astronauts, celebrities and athletes, but my favorite assignment was interviewing you – you had a story to tell and you wanted to share it with others. Some of you made readers cry; some made them laugh; some helped raise money for charities.
Because of my job, I was in the first group of adults to graduate from NASA’s Space Camp. I spent three days at the University of Kentucky, interviewing some of the country’s top researchers in Alzheimer’s disease. I interviewed Charlton Heston. I wrote a first-person story about my daughter’s successful swim across the English Channel.
I also spent three days covering the University of Tennessee football team before it won the National Championship title in 1998. I wrote about breast cancer and witnessed a mastectomy at Erlanger hospital. I wrote about the first group of local soldiers to come back from Iraq.
But with all the exciting things I’ve done as a reporter, one of my favorite assignments is writing about my grandchildren in this column. And, thanks to you, because of the positive feedback, I will continue writing Grand Thoughts once a month – much to the delight of my 9-year-old granddaughter, Tilleigh. You see, she thinks I’m a celebrity because I’m a reporter. Ha.
When I talked to my family about retiring, I wanted everyone’s input. I wanted my husband, children and grandchildren on board with my decision. And they all were, except for Tilleigh. Evie, 5, and William, 3, are happy. They know it will free me up to spend more time with them.
Tilleigh actually gave it a lot of thought before letting me know that she didn’t want me to retire.
“I like you working at the newspaper,” she said. “You like it, too, Mom (my grandchildren call me ‘Mom’). You need to write until you get really old.”
So, for those of you who read this column, I’ll still be writing it and will even ask for your input – and advice – about grandparenting. We boomers need to stick together.
Contact Karen Nazor Hill at khill@timesfreepress.com.