In the summer of 1999, I joined a website that promised to heal my marriage. It was all so new then, the internet and meta relationships. Little did we know how life would change.

For me, it became a church, a cult, a habit that drove me to get up in the middle of the night to pour out my thoughts and dreams, as if to a trusted friend. It was, of course, none of those things. But I digress.

I chose a moniker that seemed to fit the moment, and in fact, has fit many moments, including this one (the creation of this blog).

My name was “new_beginning”.

On New Year’s Eve as we entered the new millennium, I remember sitting with my (then) teenage children on the stone hearth in front of the fireplace, blazing with a fire we built ourselves.

On small, folded slips of paper, we’d each written what we wanted to get rid of that year. Then, we tossed the papers into the flames in a celebratory fervor that promised better days ahead.

Spoiler Alert: If only it were that simple!

I have, throughout the years, come back to new beginnings, over and over again. I am nothing if not persistent, resilient, and hopeful.

And so, welcome to my newest new beginning.

No fire needed.