From left, Sherry Larson, Mark Carpenter, Peggy Niswander, Terry Rigdon and Amber Dryden-Grooms. (Photo by Chad Shelton)
By Sherry Larson
People’s Defender
They say you can’t pick your family, but in some ways, – you can.
This holiday season, I am grateful for the extended loved ones in my life. People’s Defender editor Mark Carpenter recently referred to our motley crew at the Defender office as his “second family.” I would have to agree that these folks are my tribe and people I’ve grown a fond affection for over the past year.
Terry Rigdon says he’s the “grandpa” (yes, he’s been here for a bit). Amber Dryden Grooms, Peggy Niswander, and Mark are well-established members of this family tree. But they grafted me in, gave me loads of grace, and welcomed this novice reporter into the fold – into their unconventional family.
I can only imagine what they have walked through together over the years. I love hearing and sharing their memories through stories. Collectively, they have experienced happy and sorrowful times, including sickness and death. They know this community and have introduced and educated me in a short time. I do not doubt that, like family, “they have my back,” and I have theirs’.
In his holiday novel, Finding Noel, Richard Paul Evans writes, “I’ve come to know that our families are a canvas on which we paint our greatest hopes – imperfect and sloppy, for we are all amateurs at life, but if we do not focus too much on our mistakes, a miraculous picture emerges. And we learn that it’s not the beauty of the image that warrants our gratitude – it’s the chance to paint.”
At the People’s Defender, I’ve learned that it’s much more than writing stories. It’s the relationships developed along the way and the new family of who I’m blessed to be a part. This new family helped connect me to our home – Adams County. With its beauty and bruises, this community has given me a great gift – the chance to write.
