Saturday, April 21, 2007

Aw, Shucks!

A couple of months ago, I asked Jason what a meme is. I see them all the time when I'm perusing the blogosphere-- and I still don't really know where the name came from. But for those of you who don't know, a meme is kind of like a game of online tag. You are asked to participate in writing about a topic (often related to yourself), and then you tag a certain number of people to do the same. For instance, there is one out there called Real Moms. And the originator has a whole blog in which she posts links to this topic.

So, on Thursday I received a comment to my Pigtails post from Amanda D. over at Tumble Dry. Now, as you can tell from my links, this is one of those blogs I read religiously. I check it every day. Sometimes more than once a day. For me blogs are like miniature autobiographies. Some of them are practical, like Parent Hacks. Some of them are heartwarming. Some are hilarious. Some are just brutally honest. But in all of them, I see some reflection of my own world, or at least a world I'd like to be participating in, and so I return again and again.

Anyway, I was immediately drawn to Amanda's blog from the very beginning. Maybe it's that she has two children. Maybe I felt a connection because she lived in the Pacific Northwest, and I also spent some time there. Or maybe it's because I sense a kindred spirit in her political viewpoints-- and I envy her willingness to bravely discuss her views, while I worry about disclosing mine for loss of readership (me and my self-censorship, darnit). Sometimes she cracks me up. Sometimes she makes me cry. Often she makes me think. Mostly, I return to her blog, though, because she is such an eloquent writer. She just describes things with such an aptitude-- she is a writer. So when I got her message that she'd nominated little old me for a thinking blogger award, you can imagine the honor I felt-- I feel! Thanks Amanda!



I'm not the best at commenting at others blogs and remembering not to just lurk-- but I suspect (based on the number of comments I get compared to the number of page hits I receive a day) that I'm not alone in this lurking phenomenon. So it's especially nice to be asked to participate in the blogging community with such a thoughtful award nomination (no pun intended).

Now it's my turn to nominate 5 other bloggers for Thinking Blogger Awards. I hope that they will come back to this post and leave a note in the comment section telling you all where they posted their own Thinking Blogger Award nominations. . .

My first nomination goes to Danielle over at South Cackalackin'. Yeah, she's been a little . . . uh . . . remiss in her blogging responsibilities in recent weeks. But really, if blogging becomes a chore than it loses its purpose. So I don't really mind. When Danielle does post, she speaks the truth. Now, in good faith, I should disclose to you all that I know Danielle. Really know her. Like, since second grade. She is my longest-lasting friendship and my childhood best friend. And I still can't imagine the world without her. She is one of those people who does the right thing and for the right reasons. I really admire her.

My second nomination goes to Mike, who blogs over at In It But Not Of It. Now this is a blogger whose blog I don't think I've even left a comment on. Ever. I can't remember why I was looking at law school blogs, but one day I was, and I came across one called BarelyLegal. The writers had completed law school, and this one had begun a new blog. His posts on life as a Walmart employee almost caused me to spit soda out during my lunch break one day at work (Of course, I can't find that blog post now that I'm looking for it-- but trust me, it was funny). He is hilarious.

Next, I'd like to nominate Julie at Son of My Heart. Julie's son is from the same part of China that Marcie is from, so I hope she and I will always stay in touch-- at least for our kids' sake. The reason I'm nominating Julie's blog is because I am so impressed by her frankness. Sometimes, as an adoptive parent I feel like I can't be frustrated with my kids. Like I should be so happy because I'm so lucky to have them that I should never be depressed or feel overburdened. I worked so hard to get them-- I should just feel blessed all the time. I suspect this is actually not just an adoptive parent phenomena. I suspect that many parents, especially those with an infertility past, also feel like they have no business feeling frustrated by their kids. But with adoption, at least, I feel like I'm always being watched. Perhaps it's those follow-up reports by social workers just "checking in" to make sure we're being good parents. Now, I wouldn't want it any other way for the sake of the kids, but you gotta admit, there's some added pressure there. Anyway, I digress. The point is that Julie really struggled with her son when they returned from China. And she tracked those struggles. Now anyone who adopts a child, especially a child who has been in someone else's care for an extended period of time (like months), knows that attachment can be an issue. And people who haven't struggled with it look at you like you're nuts and tell you that you are nuts and that things will be fine. But that's just not always the case. . . Anyway, I think Julie has done an amazing service to people just by telling her story. Thank you, Julie.



My fourth nomination goes to Mary Mia at Salsa in China. She and her husband Rod recently adopted two beautiful girls from China. Twins. I started following their blog when I met Mary Mia in a yahoo group for waiting parents. I don't think I've posted more than a couple times (if that), but I love reading the girls' antics. And I am always impressed by Mary Mia's positive attitude toward parenting.

My last nomination is for Gene at Brother Blue. I don't know that he'll respond to this award-- I've never seen him write about a meme before. And I won't be hurt if he doesn't. Gene's blog is different from all these other blogs. I can't explain how that is. His blog is about his daily life. So maybe it's what he does for a living that makes his blog unique. You see, Gene is incredibly self-reflective. This is something I strive to be-- sometimes online, but often I do this reflection in the privacy of my own mind. Gene's willingness to share his progress makes him a nice role model.

So there you have it. My first meme. And you know I'm super lazy about linking to things from my posts, so this took me forever to do. Check out some of their work. . .

P.S. In trying to find examples in their blogs about why I enjoy them, it was super useful when they had labels for their posts and I could essentially search within a topic. So I think I might start doing that now. . .

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm thrilled, I thought perhaps you were anti-meme. You were too generous in your description of my writing and I feel as if my face might explodeit's so hot with aw-shucksing of my own.

I look forward to reading about your little ones growing into big ones and all the lessons I know you'll teach along the way.

Tammie said...

Thanks for the explanation on memes. I had no idea what they were.

Anonymous said...

Oh, I thought you were talking about a MiMi (pronounced "May May"), the square piece of cloth with four long cloth belts at each corner used to carry young ones on your back. :)