This past September, I wrote a column to serve as a tentative goodbye, should my time at The Dominion Post be coming to an end.
As it turned out, that farewell was unwarranted.
Today, my friends, it’s for real.
After many, many years wearing many, many hats here at the paper, the hour has come for me to bid it adieu.
I worked my last day on Friday.
As some of you may recall, going back a bit further to July, I returned from a vacation out west full of far-flung fantasies.
“Truth be told, the only solid notion I can muster is how desperately I want to go back,” I typed after that trip. “Back among the red rocks and the canyons. Back to volunteer at this amazing animal sanctuary I visited called Best Friends. Back to wide open spaces and fresh inspiration, new accomplishments and comfortable companionship. Back to where the only thing missing was my dogs.
“Well, and gainful employment. Which I may not have here for much longer if I can’t get my head straight — and out of the Utah clouds.”
The thing is, folks: I never could.
So, after months of what-ifs, I set about taking care of those missing pieces.
Recently, I revisited the area. I gazed again upon the red rocks and the canyons. I lent a hand at Best Friends.
Following my stint there, I was offered and gleefully accepted a position as a supervisor at Cat World, the kitty realm of this truly astounding 3,700-acre safe haven for more than 1,600 animals – cats, dogs, horses, pigs, goats, bunnies, birds and even some wild creatures – nestled in a tiny, remote town called Kanab.
In less than a week I will load up my CrossTrek with a few days’ worth of clothes and snacks, a couple of dog beds and my two furry kids and head out across the country to my new job — my new world.
It’s an enormous change, and the learning curve is huge. But I could not be more ready for the challenge.
The week following that preemptive September cheerio, I told you all about my dad and his painted rocks – the ones my sister-in-law makes and he hands out to loved ones who need a boost.
I described the one he’d chosen for me, the one I keep by my coffee pot. It depicts a small bird sitting on a branch, gazing up at a bright, full moon. Below her is written in script, “Dream Big.”
Those words are the first thing I read every morning. So, eventually, finally, I started doing just that.
And now here we are.
Not that it was easy. It’s been a bit of a ride: multiple interviews, waiting on a background check, scheduling movers, organizing donation pick-ups, securing an apartment from 2,000 miles away, coming to terms with being so very far from my family.
Imagining life outside of this newsroom.
It all still feels a bit surreal, even as the plans start to coalesce.
But I can see it, and really, it’s as natural as breath.
Me, surrounded by rocky outcrops, coral-colored sand and wide open skies.
Working at a place that feels like magic, built inside a canyon named for the messengers of heaven.
Waking up every day to the privilege of caring for so many animals awaiting their forever homes.
It will be weird, not writing this column each week — and sharing all of life’s ups, downs and turnarounds with you.
But it is time.
My stint in this spot is over.
The gratitude, however, is endless.
From my heart: Thank you for reading.
It has been an honor.
Katie Long McDowell is no longer the managing editor and lifestyles columnist for The Dominion Post.
(You can probably squeeze one more email to kmcdowell@dominionpost.com, though.)
