Who, Me?

Shelli, from Shelli’s sentiments, surprised me this morning with a thinking blogger award.   I  had to follow the link on her blog to realize it was me.  Despite having been a writer since I could hold a pencil in my hand, any awards hanging on my wall came from sources other than writing.  Shelli is one of those people that reads between the lines, and if she finds lurking pain, she reachs out and says “I’m here, I’ll help you, I’ll listen…”  She writes about family and the commonalities we all share with kids, husbands, siblings.  Shelli also has a second blog she uses to share her opinions on many things.  She makes me think about how we are all interconnected.  There is nothing new under the sun, and that makes every day go by a little easier. 

You may have seen these thinking blogger awards popping up other places.  The rules are very simple:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think!
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme or blog that you enjoy.
3. Optional: Proudly display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote.

I’m happy for this opportunity to share some links to great blogs that have enhanced my life, changed my opinion, taught me something, made me laugh… everyone in my blogroll does some or all of that, but I can only pick five:

1.  Quilly’s Quips:  I’m a huge, gushing, blubbering fan of Quill Dancer.   She’s the teacher I always wanted as a kid, the one I still want for my grandkids.  Quilly shares the stories of the little people she teaches, their triumphs and failures.  She also has a second blog called The Grownups Wanted Us Dead where she tells the laugh out loud or cry until your eyes swell stories from her childhood.  I love her engaging writing style, she’s quick witted and smart, I never leave her blog without something to think about.

2.  Guyana-Gal is a story teller.  From tales of her everyday life in Guyana to old stories she learned from someone else, she is an engaging and entertaining writer.  She makes me think always of the fact that America isn’t the only country in the world.  Back in the early days when I wasn’t seeing much, if any traffic, GG popped in regularly to remind me to quit whining and just write. 

3.  Leesa’s Stories  Leesa is a new read for me.  I like her sassiness, wit and the sheer variety of her topics.  You never know what you’re gonna find on Leesa’s blog, her opinion on a current topic, a movie review, details on her latest obsession… every day is a surprise.  Leesa not only makes me think most days, she frequently leads me to further research on something she’s talking about.

4.  Meditations from the Messy Middle of Things   Dr. Kate is an Episcopalian Minister and widow who shares stories of her family complete with the antics of the clumsiest dog in the universe, as well as essays on religion, politics and the things going on in the world and her church.  Luckily, Dr. Kate doesn’t post every day because I frequently must wander away and think about what she’s said before I can comment. 

5.  Lyric Flight Hayden is another of my favorite thinking blogs because you never know what you’ll find there.  Maybe a philosophical discussion, maybe a story about her dog, maybe a recipe for chicken pot pie or a peak from her perspective of my native state.  She is warm, and so very bright.  

My descriptions don’t do justice to these fine blogs.  Go there, visit, say hello and leave with something new to think about.  Just five doesn’t do justice to the wealth of interesting, funny, heart warming, chatty and informative blogs that reside on my blogroll.  If its raining at your house, like it is mine, take some time and check them all out.