Change is never easy.

All of my life, I’ve tried to live by a routine each day, whether it be during the week or on the weekend.

Routines, to me, serve as excellent guidelines to the every day tasks that unfold before me.

Routines are like a warm blanket that gets you through a particularly chilling afternoon.

I saw all of this to say that The Atmore Advance is changing from its carrier-delivered newspaper route to all mail. For some time, several of our subscribers in town have been on the mail route.

Beginning next week, every subscriber’s newspaper will be delivered via the United States Post Office. The change will begin with the Wed., Nov. 1, edition of the paper.

We know that a lot of you will be disappointed with the announcement and would rather not change anything. Believe me, changing my routine doesn’t work for me.

For some, the idea of newspapers is inextricable from the vision of the youngster on a bicycle, bag slung over the shoulder, tossing newspapers liberally along suburban streets. That vision, however, was outdated even in the ‘80s, and the logistics of coordinating dozens of paper routes while trying to maintain a high level of customer service is a battle whose energy could be much more effectively utilized in other aspects of the operation. In other words, the switch to mail will allow the staff at The Atmore Advance to concentrate more on the newspaper’s core mission of bringing Atmore and the surrounding area the best local news coverage possible.

Though some may lament the end of an era, the many positives the change will bring — no more missed papers or soggy papers on rainy mornings, to name just a couple — far outweigh the negatives. And in time, receiving the paper with the rest of your regular mail will seem like a no-brainer, a change born of necessity but rooted in concern for our readers.

With change, comes good.

This will be good not only for us here at The Atmore Advance, but for you, our dear and loyal readers.