Two years ago, around the same time of year, a publication that was close to my heart shut its doors and I was drafting up a farewell article. Just minutes after I finished writing, I received a call asking me to change that piece and include that another paper was going to pick up my column.

It was an interesting thing, as I had already come to terms with the ‘Homemade by Katy’ chapter of my life being over, and then all of the sudden, the chapter got an alternate ending.

I am incredibly grateful to this paper for giving me a place to continue writing — which I love, but also to do something even more important to me, which is connecting with people.

To all of you who have sent warm wishes, or recipe reviews, to those of you who I met personally and immediately heard that you look forward to my column every week, thank you. It was a pleasure getting to know you and getting to share the past six and a half years with you.

Some of you who know me and my family off of these pages, also know that my husband and I are actively involved in ministry and our church. While it may not be the only reason, it is time for us to give more attention to that part of our lives, which includes the time that I spend writing.

Which is exactly why this is not a proper goodbye. Our family will still be seen around Fredonia, making similar connections, and maybe even passing along recipes, who knows. I suspect there to still be some type of writing in the future, and I will willfully neglect to say that I would never write again.

I’ve learned to never say the word, “never,” as life somehow has a way of turning around and asking you to do exactly that which you said you wouldn’t.

While we’ve decided that this isn’t a goodbye, I’d like to leave this time with sharing some things that I’ve learned over these past few years of writing, but not just on that topic. Real life, life with kids, life as a from-home writer, life as a human, really.

Now I also need to qualify everything I am about to say, by saying that I am absolutely, one hundred percent, not perfect.

I’ve joked with my reading friends often that I am a struggling perfectionist.

Someone who is constantly learning that things do not need to be perfect in order to work. These are things I am working to attain, and we could say they’re on my to-do list. With that disclaimer, I’ll leave you to a list of tips for everyone.

“Everyone,” meaning that anyone could benefit from these things, and everyone is dealing with these things.

1. Everyone has a story. It matters little whether it is shared from printed pages or not. Everyone has unique experiences that have molded them into who they are today, and lessons that they have learned. We all have a thing or two that we could learn from someone else.

People who are older than us have so much wisdom to share. They’ve already lived the things that many of us are facing, and their experiences are not irrelevant to the world today. They are necessary and should be valued with far more respect than many give them.

2. Be kind to everyone. The interactions that we have with people are often just snapshots into their lives. We don’t always know at what time we came into it, and what the snapshot just before us looked like.

People all around us could be having the very best day or the very worst day of their life. Smile at everyone, hold the door, and take time to have a conversation and connect with people when you can.

This includes little kids too. Sometimes that kid in the store just needs a snack, and that mom just needs a nap. Everyone could use a little bit of mercy, and someday you’ll need it too. 3. Everyone is doing their best. When you’re looking for something to criticize, you will always find something, and odds are it’s none of your business. We should all live by the standard of, “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”

Social media is filled with people giving their opinions about everything under the sun. While that is somewhat what it’s for, many of the people who are being criticized are just doing what they know to do, and that doesn’t mean that they need us to tell them what to do.

Our only job is to do our best too. When you know better, do better.

So, I will leave you with these last little nuggets from Homemade by Katy. Friends, it has been my great honor to share some of these past few years, recipes, and experiences with you. Here’s to the future, and as always, thanks for reading and happy “not goodbye” from hbk!

Katy Wise is a Fredonia resident.