New Yorker)

This is our 400th and final post on 7 West. Since Kris and I started blogging here in July of 2006, two technologically challenged AARPsters have learned a lot about how to express ourselves through the marvelous series of tubes they call The Internets. For their technical advice and patience we are deeply indebted to Young’uns Kenton Ngo, Ben Tribbett, and especially Aging Wunderkind Waldo Jaquith.

And, as our readership grew over the years from the high single digits to the low double digits, you’ve learned a bit about us: our common roots in the upper Midwest; our eclectic interests that run the gamut from sentence diagramming to invasive plant species; our eagerness to spread the word when Virginia Republicans were recognized by the national media; and, above all, the affection we feel for the General Assembly and (almost) all its members.

So, what’s next? Well, I’m reconfiguring my campaign website into a year-round constituent information vehicle, and I’m planning to incorporate a blog into the design. And, after Kris returns from her Julie Andrews in Peru gig, I have no doubt she’ll get back into the game as well.

So the two of us have had a blast, and we hope you’ve enjoyed the journey as well. What a long, strange trip it’s been!

Bob

I guess this is what they mean by “bittersweet.” Writing my Very Last Post for 7 West evokes both sad and happy feelings.

There are only three ways to leave the General Assembly, and two of them are gawdawful. But the third—a voluntary retirement—turns out to be fraught with emotion as well.

I worked hard—very hard—every day for the last ten years. It’s sad to have that come to a close. I’ll miss the work. I’ll miss the friendships. I’ll miss being in a room full of people who collapse with laughter when someone says, “Ayes and nays.” (You really have to be there.)

But it’s not all sadness that I’m feeling. Having a great new job helps. A lot. (You can check us out at www.educationsector.org).

Having time to travel also is a big bonus. When the General Assembly convenes, I will be in the Sacred Valley of Peru on my way to Machu Picchu. It’s something I have wanted to do since I read about it in Mrs. Distad’s sixth grade Spanish class.

And I rather suspect that there’s more of all of this in my future. A new blog may be on the near horizon. More public service? We’ll see. More travel? Well, there’s this trip to the Holy Land that sounds intriguing.

Meanwhile, my beloved Heels are in what we can optimistically only call a “rebuilding phase.” Bob McDonnell is in the Governor’s Mansion, and I wish him well because Virginia needs him to be successful.

And me? I’m not going anywhere (well, except Peru and Bolivia and a few other as-yet-undetermined destinations.) I’ll still talk with Bob and Mark and Toddy and Scott all the time. I’ll still sound off on issues that matter to me.

Thanks for all of it—I wouldn’t have traded it for the world.

Kris