I know we have all heard that saying, “if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.” I’m sure some scoff at that, but in my case, it’s the absolute truth.

But I haven’t always loved the people I’ve worked with, if I’m being honest. I’ve never truly disliked anyone, but there have been some in my 30+ year career that I would have been quite okay had they decided to work elsewhere.

So to have found myself in the midst of one of the most marvelous groups of folks in my place of work is a surprise and a delight.

This isn’t an easy business, especially these days.

We work on deadlines, and there is a lot of competition for our time and attention. Everyone believes their story is important enough, and in truth, we try to accommodate that whenever possible. But with only the four of us, it can be…challenging.

We are always happy to have submissions, because that helps us prioritize our time, but of course everyone wants to be in Sunday’s paper.

News was once an intensely competitive industry, with multiple newspapers competing with one another to break the latest news.

These days, the advent of the Internet has made true breaking news in print almost a thing of the past.

But we are still charged with getting that information out there as quickly, and accurately, as possible.

It takes a different sort of person to take on this job. You have to be constantly curious, willing to ask the uncomfortable or sometimes obvious questions. You have to be non-judgmental, and patient. You have to approach every single story with the same level of enthusiasm, and you have to understand how to write everything so that every reader understands it, top to bottom.

You have to be willing to work a schedule that often leaves little time for a normal life, because news happens 24/7, not 9-5, M-F.

You’ve gotta have a bit of a thick skin, because everyone is going to know how you should do your job better than you, but you have to remain compassionate enough to be able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, over and over again.

You have to remember there are two sides to every story, and try to include voices from both sides.

You have to remember it’s not your job to convince anyone one way or another, only to provide correct information.

These days, you also have to be strong enough to stand up under accusations of being the “Enemy of the People,” a claim that has put a target on journalists’ backs.

No, it’s not a regular job. But I still believe it’s essential. An accurate, honest press that not only provides essential information to the public in a non-biased way but holds those in power accountable is one of the bedrocks of our country.

So it matters to me who is on my team. I want to be surrounded by people as passionate about and committed to what we are called to do as I am.

And right now, I most assuredly am.

There are three staff reporters here, Brad, Chandler, and Robert, who come in to work every day ready to tell more stories, cover more events, hustle to breaking news, peruse emails, listen to voice mails, and unearth the stories of Rowan County. And no one can forget our sports guy, Mike, who is not only a tremendous reservoir of background information, but an icon on his own.

Not all the stories we get to tell are happy.

Some are. Some are wonderful feature stories, heartwarming catalogs of lives well lived, and reading them makes you nostalgic.

Some are humorous, and engaging, relatable, and make you laugh while you find yourself nodding.

Some are informative, and you end up thinking “Huh, I didn’t know that.”

Some are infuriating, and you wonder what has happened to people to behave in such ways.

And some are heartbreaking, and leave you in tears.

But they all matter, and they all deserve to be written by someone who cares.

If the story goes in our Salisbury Post, they have been.

Once the stories get filed, they still have to get put on the page, even if it’s on-line. And that part of our process is really under a time crunch. Which means I need someone who is both fast and adept at design and a good proofreader, since it’s just the two of us putting a second set of eyes on each story. That magician is Andy, and every day I thank my luck stars for him.

Susan is our other design guru, who works on advertising and special sections and the magazine and, along with Andy, a number of other publications we help put together.

Our ad team is dynamite — Dennis, Randy, Brendan, Alishia and Mark, and our management staff — Winfred, Brittany, Janice, Mike and LeAnn, are some of the most cheerful people you could possibly imagine.

Then there is our publisher, John, who may be the best boss I’ve ever had, but don’t tell him, he’ll think I’m fooling. He’s not only down to earth, but just as passionate about news as we are, and he trusts us to do our job well.

I go home and count those lucky stars every night.

Elisabeth Strillacci is editor of the Salisbury Post.