I believe it was Lao Tzu who wrote “new beginnings are often disguised as painful endings.” Today I am not sure if truer words have ever been written.

Today would have been my 10 year wedding anniversary. That is, if things had gone the way I planned. But as we know, they never do. My divorce and subsequent relationships have taught me invaluable lessons. Lessons that if I hadn’t learned, I wouldn’t be where I am today. And friends, I am so happy to share with you that I am in the best place I have ever been.

I moved home to my little island before the summer of 2012 to heal. To pause. To take time to reflect. And be quiet. And still. I knew I wanted a loving and committed relationship but for some reason, it just wasn’t working out for me. So I moved to a beautiful place. Alone. To figure it out. And figure it out I did.

My friends have always joked with me that I don’t have a type. I really don’t. The men I have dated span the spectrum. The one consistent piece was always me and my {sometimes too} open heart. But sometimes my heart and head weren’t aligned. I held onto moments instead of the realities. In those two years of quiet reflection, I realized I yearned for a love I had not yet experienced. “I crave a love so deep the ocean would be jealous.” I knew when I met that one who was just as open as me, that things would just be.

And be they are. I met my companion. The one who makes me laugh. The one who holds me when I cry. The one who believes in all my dreams {and wants to be part of them}. My best friend. And her name is K or as I like to call her #mygirl.

As a graduate of a women’s college, many would suspect that I did that college thing and explored a relationship with a woman. I am here to deny all such suspicions and confirm that never happened. I did have a “crush” but when I thought about developing it into anything else, it just didn’t seem right.

That was before #mygirl. Still the only girl who caught my eye. I met K through a mutual friend and early on, I knew there was something different about her. She made me pause. But our lives were in very different places.

But last spring, our paths aligned. “When love is real, it finds a way.” I had just returned from a trip to sunny California to visit my parents. It was on that trip, I decided it was time to leave the island and head back to Boston. A week later, I was back in Boston and everything changed.

Deciding to open my heart and life up to K has been the easiest and best decision of my life. My friends and family have welcomed her into our lives with open arms. She has brought out the very best in me. Ten years later, life is exactly how it should be and I am quite certain it will only get better with each passing year.