Honet Scrap Award

Fellow blogger and friend at Becoming Whole nominated me for this blog award. Thanks, Becoming Whole, I'm honored.







The rules are:

1. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs you find brilliant in content or design.

Knocked Up, Knocked Down
Surviving the Day
Still Life With Circles
Tuesday's Hope
La La Land
Heart Heal Hope
Shanti Mama


2. Show the 7 winners’ names and links on your blog, and leave a comment informing them that they have won the Honest Scrap award.

3. List at least 10 honest things about yourself

OK, here goes. Below are 10 random honest things about myself complete with nonsensical segues:

1. I like to use the phrase beer:thirty 'cause I think it's funny and was my version of "It's Five o'clock somewhere," for many college years! This is number one because I just saw my first Jimmy Buffett concert! I know I'm out of the pop culture loop.

2. I'm still having trouble getting back to reading since Caitlin died. I can read blogs and articles, books if they are about grief and poetry, but I can't seem to sit still and turn the page of a book or journal, especially when it's related to work. UGH

3. I admire smart articulate women who seem to be able to wade in the waters and aren't afraid to stir those waters occasionally with some pretty vigorous swimming.

4. Year two of life without my daughter feels like sludge. I struggle with inertia and listlessness. But, I do smile more than in year one.

5. I'm a classical music elitist snob, but I have a "secret" love of country western music like Sugarland, Rascal Flatts, and Kenney Chesney--who sings "Keg in the Closet," a song that reminds me of the years of "beer:thirty"!

6. I am intolerant of people who yell. I am distressed by those who think if your voice is louder your ideology is "righter." In real life, I walk away and let them know I'll be back when they have calmed down, and when I'm assaulted with it on TV, I turn the channel.

7. I seek the opposing point of view. I laughed out loud when I heard a TV entertainer say, "And if you don't agree with me, then why are you watching anyway." I seek the opposing point of view, because I wish to be informed and live in the world as it is and not as I wish it were, and because I wish not to demonize those who disagree with my point of view, and because, above all I choose to grow--and growth, I believe requires cognitive discourse.

8. I love NPR, I just do. They talk about stuff for a long time and they interview people who write amazing books like Daniel J. Levitin, and deliver information about programs like Musiccorps, and they rarely interrupt and almost never yell. And they provide plenty of cognitive discourse. Lovely, better than beer:thirty!

9. I know the difference between a scientific theory and a theory.

10. I think it's ridiculous that in conversation, professional or casual, that everyone is referred to as "guys," as in "Hey, you guys let's do this." I sometimes imagine a world where we refer to everyone as "gals" to discover if "guys" is truly gender neutral. Perhaps someday I'll get to respond with this, "Tell me why again, it's an insult or inappropriate to refer to everyone as a "gal?" or "Hey, gals, it doesn't matter, it's just a figure of speech. Now gals, let's play some football"!

A Blog-Hug to What "Makes My Heart Smile"

Amy over at "Surviving the Day" added me to her 10 favorites. I had missed the post somehow, but today was a day I needed it. I've been thinking about letting my blog fade, because I've been feeling like it needs to evolve. Since I've been part of this bereaved parent online community, I've watched other bloggers turn a corner, fade, or create new blogs to better express the different facets of their lives that have grown from this grief journey. 

That said, I still don't know how my writing will transform, but today, I felt blog-hugged. So thanks Amy for including me, and like you I found it difficult to choose only 10, and because many of my favs would be the same as Amy's, I decided rather than to pick 10, I'd add 10 to the list of favorites.  Here they are: 

Dr. Joanne Cacciatore at "Becoming" 

Alice at "An Empty Chair at Our Table"

Elm City Dad

Monica at "Knocked-Up, Knocked-Down"

Mommy (You can call me OM) at "Overeducated Mommy"

Loribeth at "The Road Less Traveled"

Hope's Mama at "Tuesday's Hope" 

Zil at "The Three Birds"

B at "The Shifty Shadow" 

Mel at "Stirrup Queens and Sperm Palace Jesters"

Sisterhood Award

I was recently moved by the poem "Community" by Rachel Barenblat. I copied and planned to post it here, because I feel held by this community of bereaved and infertile mothers (fathers too). When I opened the blog to post it, I was greeted with a comment from Rebeka at Life After Levi. She nominated me for a blog award! Rebeka's kind words and the Sisterhood award made me feel like I was contributing to this community, and so I'm humbly accepting the nomination by posting the image with the rules and 10 more awardees AND posting the poem--because we are all connected.


COMMUNITY

One by one
every woman I know
approaches me
carrying words

it happened to me
my mother
my sister
my best friend

four times in a row
before the baby came
once, before
I even knew

three times
over six years
and then children
healthy and perfect

just keep breathing
in and out
around the stone
you’ve swallowed

I’ve been there
I am holding you
you won’t feel this way
always

[You can read more from Barenblat on her blog and read all of Barenblat's poetry in her online book "Through." It's a free download and you can purchase a paperback as well.]

And now, I must follow the rules and so here are 10 more of our community to receive the Sisterhood Award.

Here are the rules:
Put the logo on your blog or post.
Nominate at least 10 blogs with great attitude and/or gratitude.
Be sure to link to your nominees in your post.
Let your nominees know they have received the award by leaving them a comment on their blog.
Be sure to link this post to the person who nominated you for the award.


Amy at Surviving the Day (Yes, I know she already received the award, but she left the most lovely photo of a pink tulip and thought of my daughter and I just felt hugged.)

Trish at Fertile Hope (She wrote the most thought provoking post about the r-word that brought me to her blog.)

Stephanie at Beauty in the Breakdown (Beautiful posts of artistic expressions of parents' grief journey)

Anarchist Mom at Anarchist Mom (Because she always posts sincere and honest thoughts, and frequently challenges how I see the world, and I'm of a mind that that's a good thing)

Sarah at Cover her Briefness in Singing (I was drawn to her blog because of the title--I have a thing for singing--and I quickly added her blog to list of frequent reads)

Sophie at faraday's garden (another baby loss mama who held her baby girl for a short time)

Kari whose blog is private, but I wanted to acknowledge because she's another bereaved mother who writes smart and expressive essays

Jessie at The Encouragement of Light (I love the poetry she frequently includes and am inspired by how she walks her grief journey)

Loribeth at The Road Less Travelled (Because I relate to being a parent without a living child and she embraces life, choosing to thrive as well as survive)

Mommy (you can call me OM) at Overeducated Mommy (She always leaves such kind and comforting comments)