Is it an ending or a beginning?

I love stories where the ending is the beginning, or the beginning starts first with the ending. Or, the beginning is the core of the story, the tight center, and the narrative flows out and away from it, a widening aperture. 

I rarely see the end of a year as an ending. Or as a beginning. In fact, I never feel this kind of transition in January (I feel it more in September, probably because I've inculcated the academic calendar to my rhythms and can't help but think of the end of summer as the "end" of the year). 

This all reminds me of a psychic I once saw. I asked her why I was so attracted to the spiral symbol. She told me to stop thinking about it as a two-dimensional thing, that I should stretch it out like a spiral staircase that never ends. 

For me, that was a watershed moment. I began to recognize personal, creative energy as a kind of ebb and flow, or contraction/expansion, instead of a path walked around a circular labyrinth. 

2018 has been equal parts contraction and expansion. I:

New year, new job: announcements about my working life

I've had a wonderful run working for inboundMed since November 2015.

I went from contract writer to Chief Content Officer rather quickly during this time. The effort called forth many skill sets from previous work in production, editing, and writing.

I enjoyed managing an editorial calendar for several clients, providing high-quality content for their blogs, and working with other writers (Kristen, Jackie, Ashia, and Erica's crew) to get it all done.

Medical marketing is interesting work and there's a huge need for it out there, especially given the new changes to our healthcare system.

And speaking of changes...

In December, I was approached by the American Sleep Apnea Association (ASAA) with an opportunity I couldn't pass up: to manage their new blog and contribute to other engagement efforts (social media, forums, apps) and patient assistance programs.

In my capacity as curator of SleepyHeadCENTRAL.com, I have long supported their efforts to get sleep health patients the information and assistance they need.

There are only so many hours in the day! I finally chose to make the switch to the ASAA. I will start working with them beginning this week, and can't be more excited!

I will continue to produce content for the American Association of Sleep Technologists (AAST) and write for their magazine, A2Zzz. 

I'm also currently at work to improve SleepyHeadCENTRAL.com and hope to finish the sleep health book manuscript, which has been on the back burner for a while.

Finally, I have added two new blog columns to my list of writing commitments, both which I'm very excited to announce:

Multiple Sclerosis News Today ("MS in Moderation," in which I break out topics discussed in the MS forum I co-moderate), and MultipleSclerosis.net (in which I discuss MS concerns related to sleep health, fatigue, and sleep disorders).

Thank you, Kevin Asp, for your support and confidence. The job at inboundMed was an amazing opportunity for me as a sleep health educator. I also learned just what my capacity could be as a remote worker with multiple sclerosis. I'm so grateful that leaving the sleep lab because of this unfortunate health reality did not end my sleep health career for good!

Onward!