Another writer in the house

Sometimes I can be really selfish.

I’ve been gushing about being published in Prime magazine, and I’ve been bragging about getting a “job” at the Argus Leader, but I haven’t once talked about something I’m really proud of – someone I’m really proud of.

Kerrie, my wife, brought home her very own published work, her first magazine article and first cover story: an article in The Good Samaritan. She had jetted off to Mesa, Arizona earlier this year to write the story on a request from the national Good Samaritan center where she works here in Sioux Falls. She was gone for four days as she researched and interviewed, learning as much as she could about the Mesa center’s fitness program. She had a professional photographer, and she had “comped” meals, and she even got to go to a Phoenix Suns playoff game.

When her article showed up on the front cover last month I felt a swell of pride building up inside of me. I personally consider Kerrie the more talented of the two of us – she’s the one with the interpersonal skills, the organizational techniques, and the clearer conscience – and it was exciting to see something that she had worked so hard on, something that was so good, featured on a national level.

I know that I sometimes act a little self-centered, and I realize that it’s not exactly my most endearing quality. It’s not that I don’t give credit where credit is due. It’s just that sometimes I only think of the things that affect me personally.

I’d be lying, however, if I said I wasn’t proud of Kerrie, if not even a little jealous. I’m proud of her for accepting a job that really challenges her, and even more for accepting an assignment that took her completely out of her comfort zone and sent her off on her own. I’m proud of her for being a great writer – for putting together an article that really shows the passion and strength of those involved with the fitness program in Mesa. I’m proud of her for having a byline in a fancy glossy magazine.

Most of all, however, I’m sorry that I haven’t said enough to this point.

This was lovingly handwritten on October 6th, 2005