Things have gotten so busy; I think I passed myself in the hallway at work the other day.

People often tell me I need to look into cloning myself and part of me thinks, they may be on to something.

It truly seems that fall is our most hectic time, school getting back into session, lots of sports happening throughout the week, Homecoming events, Halloween, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving … and on it goes.

As I look ahead to what’s coming up in October, I see there is a Friday the 13th which, for some, might cause a bit of concern.

Maybe if the full moon fell on the same day, I’d be more inclined to worry.

And even though I’m not really superstitious, there are some cases where things have to stay the same. Such as the Escalon shirt I have to wear when covering Friday night football.

The one I wore for the first Friday night game this season is the one I will wear each Friday night until we are done. You can’t change the shirt in the middle of the season. It’s just not done. And Friday night is the only time I wear that particular shirt. It’s my football shirt.

Not my volleyball shirt. Not my flag football shirt. Not even my ‘wear it all day’ Friday shirt. Only for football.

I once knew someone who wore the same Hawaiian-themed shirt with pineapples all over it every Friday night on the sidelines for years. You don’t argue with tradition.

One of my quirks, I know, but trust me, I am not the only one.

Some people have lucky socks or a special meal they eat. Whatever you want to do to make you feel like you are bringing some good energy to the situation, do.

Getting back to the title of this column, we are at the point where so much is happening, all of us at the paper are perfecting our juggling skills. Trying to get it all covered and remembering which of our three papers it goes in, just comes with the territory. I made a phone call recently and just rattled off the names of all three papers while trying to remember which story I was working on and which paper I was representing. In that case, it was Riverbank and the person on the other end of the line was very understanding.

Being busy isn’t a bad problem to have; to me it means there is always something fresh and new and that’s what makes this job interesting.

Even after all these years (now I am sounding like an old timer) there still is nothing I can think of that I would rather be doing. There was a time early on in my career where I had two part-time jobs; one at the radio station and one at the Head Start program, both back in rural upstate New York. My six-month probationary period at Head Start was coming to a close and they had offered me the opportunity to go full-time. The radio station, as fate would have it, had just lost their full-time news person and I was offered that job. So, I was at the crossroads. Teaching had always been an interest but writing was my first love. Given the opportunity to work full-time, writing, and getting to learn the ins and outs of broadcasting along the way, it was too much to resist.

It was a choice that was definitely the right one.

There are still more stories to tell, more photos to take, more newspaper issues to edit. And I still need to get that children’s book I wrote published … it’s definitely on my ‘to do’ list.

Marg Jackson is editor of The Oakdale Leader, The Escalon Times and The Riverbank News. She may be reached at mjackson@oakdaleleader.com or by calling 209-847-3021.