New Hyundai Elantra? Sure. But the real story is the trade-in.
It’s a Honda Odyssey. Worn down. Over 150,00 miles on it. You’d expect those numbers from a mom shuttling four kids to school and soccer, but that’s not it. This family drives. A lot.
“All of my kids have been to all the 48 lower lower states… The fun is in the journey.”
That journey mirrors her career. Or at least it did for a while. Before landing in our editorial trenches, Meredith took a path that twisted enough to make your neck hurt. Music degree. Voice emphasis. Opera singer, essentially. Then she pivoted hard. Grad school. Church history.
Need cash? She fixed grammar. Students needed help with their thesis papers. She delivered. It’s there she found the Chicago Manual of Style. The bible for copyediters. The thing we use here to keep our writers honest and consistent.
She loved words enough to do it freelance for 15 years. That’s a long time. Now she’s part of our “language wranglers,” the team that ensures every article we publish is concise, grammatically correct, and actually readable.
She puts up miles everywhere. Footwear suffers too. She’s run 14 half marathons. One full.
The discipline of long-distance running transfers well to editing. It helps when words come at you in a torrent, demanding scrutiny against a deadline. Calm mind. Disciplined stride.
Now, if we could just get her to belt a chorus from La Traviata between manuscript edits… wouldn’t that be something?
