June 27, 2011 will mark my two-year anniversary here in the hallowed halls of Open Salon. (Well, if we had halls, they would surely be hallowed.) Being the self-proclaimed rebel that I am, I have decided to eschew tradition and publish my two-year anniversary post several days ahead of the actual anniversary date. Seriously, what could it hurt? Truth be told, I’m catching a glimpse of my muse today, and God only knows when she may decide to show her face again, so I need to take advantage of her presence.

I don’t know how many posts I’ve actually published on Open Salon due to the occasional snit-fit when I threw caution and good sense to the wind and deleted some of them. A few posts deserved deleting, a few of them I should have let stand. What’s done is done and there’s no turning back. Looking back, I had far fewer filters when I first began to post here. I’ve become more cautious, one might even say taciturn, of late. In my two years here, I’ve found the most delicious friends. Great friends, true friends. Anyone of the opinion that one cannot form true friendships online is, in a word, WRONG. I’ve been fortunate to meet several of my OS friends in person, and look forward to meeting even more of them (as well as revisiting the ones I’ve already met.)

OS has seen me through some truly horrific times. I’ve written extensively about my trials as I dosado and allemande left with the worst dance partner of all time – Depression. You all extended your hearts and your virtual hands to me as I watched my son, my darling son, be ripped apart by a zero-tolerance justice system gone terribly wrong. And you rejoiced with me when he was returned to me, miraculously whole and not destroyed, which was my greatest fear. You’ve seen me through the births of grandchildren, the joy of my youngest son’s college graduation; through my greatest joys and through my darkest days. You have been, in the truest sense of the word, friends.

I have learned about myself, but I have also learned about you. In my time here on Open Salon, I have been honored to read some of the finest writing anywhere. My constant refrain since first stepping foot on these virtual premises has been that this place is home to the most incredible pool of talent I have ever encountered. I’ve laughed, I’ve cried, I’ve held my breath, I’ve hoped and prayed, and all of it because of a very special group of fine folks who have come to call this place home.

It has been my greatest pleasure to have shared these past two years with you here on Open Salon. I wonder where we will all be two years from now. Is it possible we’ll all still be here by this virtual fireplace, telling our stories, laughing and crying, and wondering where the time went?

It could happen.