No time for sitting still

Scott Loftis

I had to chuckle a bit when I first saw the editorial cartoon that is published just to the right of this column. As I glanced over the various summertime activities described in the cartoon, I nodded several times. It’s been a busy summer for me and my wife, Lisa, but we’ve enjoyed almost every minute of it.

Our summer so far has included a week in Florida (with my desktop computer along for the ride in a special case, because even on vacation the news doesn’t stop), multiple trips to central Arkansas to visit kids and grandkids, a couple of minor-league baseball games at Arvest Ballpark in Springdale and more fishing trips to George’s Pond than I can count.

We headed south again last weekend for a family reunion with Lisa’s mom’s family at Greers Ferry Lake. Eleven of us spent two nights at a fabulous house in Fairfield Bay that gave us an opportunity to stay up late (some later than others; I’ve turned into an early riser and thus I’m usually the first to bed at home) and visit without being in separate hotel rooms. On Sunday, we helped Lisa’s daughter, Lauren, and her boyfriend, Taylon, both honor students at the University of Central Arkansas, move into a new apartment in Conway. We had some extra help from my son, Ronnie, and his family, who drove up from North Little Rock to lend a hand with the heavy lifting. After a late lunch/early dinner with Ronnie, Christi, Hayden and Liam, Lisa and I headed back to Berryville — with a stop in Clinton to pick up my car; we had taken so much stuff down for the reunion that we filled two cars. We got home about 8 p.m., unpacked both cars and I headed to bed about 9:30. I overslept, for a Monday, and was up at 4:15 a.m. and in the office before 6.

Things won’t get much less hectic any time soon. This weekend, we’re headed south again to watch Hayden play in an all-star baseball tournament. Then next week, we’re off to the Arkansas Press Association’s annual convention in Little Rock. We’ll go by way of Springdale, where we’ll watch with pride as Gentry police officer Ryan Loftis graduates from the Northwest Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy. We know we’ll enjoy the APA convention, where the Carroll County News will receive 24 individual awards and hopefully bring home the big prize — first place for general excellence among the state’s medium-circulation weekly newspapers – for the fourth consecutive year and sixth time in the past seven years.

We might actually spend a weekend at home after that, although Lisa is already saying those dreaded words: “yard sale.” We’re planning a trip to Cincinnati on Labor Day weekend to watch the Cubs take on the Reds. And how about a long weekend in New Orleans this fall?

Yes, we’re busy and, sure, we get exhausted. But it’s worth it to spend time doing the things we love, especially when we get to make new memories with friends and family. Isn’t that what life is really all about?

••• Scott Loftis is editor and publisher of the Carroll County News. His email address is SLoftis@CarrollCoNews.com.