DW readers:

You haven’t heard much from me lately, at least not on DW.  I think it’s been about a year since I posted anything (which I’m sure is a surprise to readers, since a lot of folks continue to not understand the concept of a multi-author blog).  Part of it is that I’ve been swamped with getting/keeping my business going, and part of it is that I’ve been communicating largely through other media (namely Facebook).  That’s part of the reason I’m leaving — because I don’t see those changing any time soon.  The rest is this:

DW’s mission has always been about having smart commentary from smart women that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and isn’t afraid of some irreverent humor.  There are clearly a lot of intense issues out there, and sometimes the discourse gets too caught up in its own weight.  Sometimes, you can have a conversation about something with a little humor at the same time.  And that’s not a bad thing.

I believed in that mission when I started blogging here, and I still think there’s a place for that within the SD blogosphere.  I also get that legislators are often not given the same latitude for irreverence, maybe because the public (rightly or wrongly) ascribes an additional level of seriousness to us as people.  That’s not to say I don’t take seriously the trust voters have placed with me, and the seriousness of the role of being an elected official — I do, and I’m deeply humbled by it.  I think one of my colleagues said it best when they described it to their child as such: “I am not important.  What I do here in Pierre is important.”

So, given those constraints, I don’t think it’s productive for the vision of the blog for me to continue to have a presence at DW.  I’m thankful to my co-contributors and editors for giving me the opportunity to be part of this, and I know there’s lots more lady fuel where that came from.

I’ll still be around the internets, and am resolving to get more consistent about posting blog entries on my own website (I’m still a big believer in transparency from elected officials), so that y’all continue to hear from me.  So….I’ll see you around the Internets.