I remember many tweets from interested parties days and weeks *before* people at @weeklystandard were told they were being fired so Media DC could harvest their healthy organs to prop up a zombie.

At the time, it was hard to imagine we'd thrive again. We are so blessed.

It was, and has continued to be, a clarifying time. A huge thank you to the many friends who reached out then with such kindness and support.

Lots of people went the, "Oh that's too bad, but I'm sure they'll land on their feet!" route. Which is kind of professional version of what the well-meaning say when you've miscarried a child.

What most of you don't know is that JVL--who of course foresaw since 2016 exactly how the TWS story would end, and why (which is why he had exactly zero things in his office the day they were surprise fired)--took the opposite approach with his team.

For the weeks leading up to 12/14/2020, he spent every minute he wasn't doing his job reaching out to every friend or colleague in many different industries to try to match each of his employees with a perfect job to go to on 1/1/19.

And he did it. He didn't spend one moment looking out for himself. I was a bit frantic, having finally quit my FBI job that year because the needs of our kids (especially one) were simply too much for me to keep commuting to DC.

He was single-minded about making sure each and every one of them--many of them young, just married, just starting families--would have something great to go to and would be able to provide for their families.

A few close friends know this--saw it happen. Most don't. He took care of everyone else first. And then, @SarahLongwell25 called him to get his thoughts on what she should/could do with @BulwarkOnline. They talked for a few hours and she said something like, YOU are what I need.

He wasn't super into it, but thought: I know how to do this. I'll get them off the ground and then figure things out.

But then it started growing. And growing. And somewhere along the way, he gave his heart to it. It took a LONG time, but what he built is amazing.

He never dismissed the real trauma his colleagues experienced as "Ah, they'll land on their feet." He did everything he could to set them on solid ground.

"Always look forward -- never look back!" is his motto. So he built something new and meaningful.

He has more grit than anyone I've ever met, since nothing has ever been handed to him. But he also has more grace. I've struggled with bitterness, but he--who could have told you ALL THE DETAILS, since he didn't take the payoff money--just moved on.

He has all the goods on all the people, but has poured his energy into creating something that's much needed. No recriminations. Just forward momentum. That's amazing to me.

This was a tough milestone in our lives, and never would I have imagined how good things would be now!

I'm proud of him every day, and admire him more than anyone in the world. You can't go back, and you can't re-create something that was uniquely special to the world and to the people who worked there. But he's made something new and vibrant, and never seeks credit.

It took me until the afternoon to even realize what today was. I'm not sure he has remembered! God is good, and this whole adventure has helped me to trust that His ways are higher and I just need to hang on and trust Him.

Finally...a giant hug and thank you to the people I've come to know through JVL, especially @SarahLongwell25. She and JVL are a perfect team. Brains, vision, compassion, diligence, optimism, pessimism, kindness, humor, humility, and above all -- integrity.

Okay one more thing: there are a bunch of internet-turned-IRL friends, loosely known as the SubStandard Expanded Universe, who were then, and still are, rocks for us. They, in fact, bought ALL THE BOOZE for the firing party. You know who you are. And we love you, so much.

Actually one more thing: to @AttyScottFoster for telling us what we already knew and being a wise, warm, wonderful friend for 23 years