(Editor's Notes by Christina Myer - Photo Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection)

Last month, West Virginia University President E. Gordon Gee took some time out of his busy schedule to chat with members of the Ogden Newspapers editorial board via video conference.

(I was the one whose audio kept cutting out, and who, according to a colleague, was frozen several times with a look of being very unhappy with my laptop.)

Gee spoke differently about what we are all experiencing. He said he kept hearing people talk about getting “back to normal,” as though we will all “get to the top of Coronavirus Mountain and then slide back down to the way things were before.” We are never going back to the way things were before, he said.

I agree with him. And in a lot of ways that is a good thing, if we keep our heads about us.

I imagine very few people have not, over the past several weeks, discovered something positive about the changes we are making in our lives, in our businesses, in the way we communicate — and in the way we appreciate each other.

There’s plenty of not-so-good, too, of course. But our task now is to overcome the bad without leaving behind the good. We’ve got to weed out the parts of “the way things have always been done” that just aren’t getting us to where we want to be, anymore.

Plenty of businesses are finding out there is a different way to get the job done, maybe even one that better serves its customers.

We here at the News and Sentinel have found that out, too.

In fact, because of changes we are making, this is the last time you will have to wait until Sunday morning to read my column … and, oh yeah, all that other great stuff in the Sunday edition.

Beginning May 9, our Sunday edition will be distributed a day early and available throughout the weekend. No more trying to peruse the whole paper in one sitting, or use all your coupons on Sunday afternoon.

Don’t worry. You won’t miss anything. In fact, the change means an improvement to the number of local voices on our Sunday opinion pages. Our reporters will still be working hard to keep breaking news, sports and event coverage updated on our website throughout the weekend.

For us, the new normal has taught us a lot about the best way to serve our readers, and we are excited about this new approach to our Sunday product. It is an important change that means some very good things come out of an uncertain time; and we know you will be pleased with it, too.

Christina Myer is executive editor of The Parkersburg News and Sentinel. She can be reached via e-mail at cmyer@newsandsentinel.com