Beginnings… ugh. I never know where to start. Do I introduce myself? Do I greet you with a warm smile or should we just stand here quietly and wait for this to start? So many times I have found myself in a room of strangers (usually moms with their kids at a music class or something like that), and we quietly stick to ourselves because we don’t know where to begin. I always encourage my kids to introduce themselves and get right in there to play with the others, yet I can’t often muster that kind of bravery out of myself.  I do believe we are all eager to belong to something or make a friend though because, well, we showed up, didn’t we? I’m always desperate for the beginning to be over quickly. I like being in the middle where everything is more comfortable, and we are friends already. I wish we could just skip over the awkward beginnings.

So let’s just get on with it.