I Rock, Therefore I am

I would like to thank Natalie and Mrs. Chicky for bestowing the Rocking Girl Blogger award on me. They are both really fabulous bloggers.

Natalie is not a Mommy Blogger, and frankly, it feels very liberating for me to read her...sort of like I am more than a just a Mommy blogger because I read blogs that are written by hip, smart, young urban non-Mommy types. Shut Up. It can be true if I want it to. Yes it can.

Mrs. Chicky is a Mommy Blogger, but like so many of us, she is about so, so, so much more than poop, pregnancy and parenting. She's smart and funny and a great writer. She's someone you can totally picture yourself sipping wine and watching cheesy 80's movies with. Me and Mrs. Chicky could hang...yannow?

Go check them both out because they really are Rockin Girl Bloggers.

I'm supposed to pass this on to five bloggers. Oy. There are so many great writers out there. Really. Every day I run accross another blog that I can't believe the whole world isn't reading because they are THAT smart, pithy, clever and irreverent.

So whom to choose????

Well, I'm going to bestow this award on five people that are not high profile bloggers. They are not "A-listers", they do not get a jillion comments on every post, they are not part of any network, blog ring, review board, or collaborative parenting aggregate. They do not check bloglines, technorati or statcounter to gauge their popularity.

They are my friends and they just write.

First we have Nina, whom I've referenced before. Nina is a 40 something gay woman who recently came out after years of hiding behind the respectable mantle of heterosexuality. It has been a heartwrenching journey for her. I think she is an amazingly brave person and I think her children are so lucky to have her for a mother. She writes beautiful poetry and takes beautiful pictures. She has a lyrical soul, Nina does. I get to meet her in July, and I can't wait.

Then there is AA. AA is a teacher, and she has given me some absolutely invaluable insight into my struggle with Diminutive One's learning challenges this year. She's one of the good guys, so I'm fortunate to have her on my side. Also, she actually indulges her wanderlust, and goes to places most people only dream about. I love to read about her travels and live vicariously through her. I get to meet her in July as well, and again, I can't wait.

Mischief is a woman who has been on a rollercoaster ride of emotion since she selflessly gave up her daughter for adoption 20 years ago. Recently, her daughter and her grandson came back into her life, and she is writing about it with such incredible aplomb. I think if I were experiencing something so profoundly gratifying the words would be exploding all over the page with no coherence whatsoever. Her words are raw, honest, and beautiful. And her story is one that no adoptee or birth mother should miss. Sadly, Mischief cannot attend our little get together and I absolutely hate that she won't be there.

M, of Six Green Zebras is an amazing mom, raising a child on her own; a child with some problems for whom she has been an tireless advocate. I admire her SO much for the way she has fought to give her son the best life possible. That has involved making some really tough choices. But she made them and she didn't look back and she never complains. She ROCKS. M cannot join us either, but I would give anything if she could.

Kirdy is my friend both in real life and online. She's just cool. She's smart, fun, irreverent, bawdy, supportive, loyal and hip. She's a great writer, a great Mom, and a great partner in crime when it comes to feeding my trifecta of addictions, that being, books, make-up and delicious smelly things called tarts. She doesn't blog as much as I'd like her to, because she has three small children. Maybe this will give her a little nudge. I think she could be an A-lister for sure. Kirdy will be in Chicago with bells on, (we somehow managed to schedule our little gtg the same weekend as Blogher, in the same city) and we are going to paint the town red. Watch out all you other girl bloghers.

I'm just going to tell you about my last pick, because I don't honestly know if this blogger wants the blogosphere spying on what is her current life journey. You see...her husband was recently diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer. He is my age. They have two beautiful children, one of whom I had the privilege of seeing born. I will never forget the look on J's face as he gazed at his firstborn child. It was true love. K is writing about their struggle with incredible humor and pragmatism. I am so impressed that she can stay so strong, so positive and so focused on getting J well. I think I would simply dissolve into a quivering puddle of goo if I were to receive such news. She is my hero. I hate that they have moved to Wisconsin. Now we never get to see them. But the next time we breeze through on the way to my folks, we will be sure to make a detour so I can squeeze the pee out of both of them. Too bad that doesn't work with cancer.

*Kate has given me her blessing, so go read her at Jim's Beating The Cancer. In particular, you must read "Too Much Information". Hilarious, touching, and quintissential Kate.

So there you have them. As I said, they are not the movers and shakers of the blogosphere. You probably don't recognize their names and you probably won't see them on many blogrolls. They are just real people writing blogs. And they rock.