Living the Good Life [EDITORIAL]

Take the kids to school.  20 minute drive.  Fight rush hour traffic.  Can’t let them walk in the city.  Too dangerous!  Go to the gym for some exercise.  Another 20 minute drive.  Get groceries afterwards.  15 minute drive.  Back home for lunch.  Church meeting in the afternoon.  30 minute drive.  At least no rush hour.  Oh, but I forgot, they are resurfacing the normal route there, so have to take a detour.  35 minute drive instead.  If I need to take the kids to the doctor, can’t always get in right away, and it means another half hour drive.  My spouse works downtown.  Fights rush hour traffic going and coming for 30-45 minutes each way.  Boss thinks work is more important than family, so leaves home early and gets back late most days.  Not much time for family or getting involved in community.  Supper.  Kids homework.  Finally, bedtime.  Tomorrow, do it all over again!  The RAT RACE!!  That’s one treadmill you need to get off of!

Send kids off to school.  1-10 minute walk, or they can ride their bicycles.  Walk or drive downtown for coffee with friends and get groceries.  Go to wellness center for workout.  No traffic!  If the kids need to see the doctor, we have a choice of doctors, and the clinic is not more than 5 minutes away.  There is also a hospital connected to the clinic.  Spouse works in town.  2-3 minutes on the bicycle.  Able to take time off work to see kids’ school programs during the day.  Serve on community and church committees, and sometime during the day will usually see most of the people that you needed to talk to before the next meeting.  Go home to eat lunch with spouse.  Eat supper with the family.  After supper, play outside with the kids, go for a walk or ride bicycle with your spouse.  Stop and talk with anybody you see outside along the way.

Which scenario sounds more like the kind of life you and your family are looking for?  Scenario two is life in Henderson.  I am Steve Michel, Cashier of Henderson State Bank.  My wife, Shar and I, have lived in Henderson for 37 years.  Our kids were all born and raised here.  I grew up in York, went to college in Lincoln, then lived in Omaha and Norfolk before coming to Henderson.  I like a balance in life:  a balance between work, family, church, community and recreation.  I have found that balance and more in Henderson.  I have always been able to take time off work to be involved in our kids’ activities, to go to funerals of community friends, (which is almost everyone), to go to health care appointments, and deal with any of life’s events that don’t always wait until the weekend.  I have been fortunate to be involved on many boards and committees, helped with the school’s sports teams, and play on soft ball teams, community volleyball and softball, tennis, ping pong and racquetball, along with doing some road running.  There are two new softball/baseball fields with a concession stand, tennis courts, a newer swimming pool and the town is flat with all streets paved.   If you are a senior citizen and have need for Independent Living, Assisted Living or a Long Term Care Facility, those are all located on the same campus with the clinic and hospital.

You can be involved in as much or as little as you have time for and are interested in. Henderson does not provide all the services and jobs that we want or need, and we do have to go out of town for some things, or even for work.  Add another advantage to living in Henderson.  We are 3 miles from I-80, which puts you 20 minutes from York or Aurora, 45 minutes from Grand Island, 60 minutes from Lincoln (and the Cornhuskers!!), less than 2 hours to Omaha, 4 hours to Kansas City and 7-9 hours to many of Colorado’s ski slopes and other destinations.  In Henderson, you have the advantage of a more relaxed and family oriented life, but with easy access to all that the larger towns and cities can offer.  Don’t wait another minute to get started on that life that you have always dreamed of!  Call Kelsey Bergen at the Henderson Chamber office at 402-723-5782 or go to www.hendersonne.com online and start your new adventure!  I hope to see YOU “Living the Good Life” in Henderson, soon!

Steve Michel