Some Thanks with a Side Helping of Meta

I have pointedly refrained from making any meta posts on the issue of blogging. It is what it is, and I am now pretty savvy about what it is, so I can either accept it or I can move on. I like blogging, so I accept the bad with the good. And I really think that mostly, it's good.

But I gotta be honest...in many ways, the blogosphere reminds me of highschool. There is definitely an "in" crowd, to which, I don't belong. I don't really do cliques or groups very well, so it's just as well. Somehow, it doesn't seem nearly as calamitous as it did when I was fifteen. I like doing my own thang...always have.

But I have my own little audience and I'm sincerely grateful for every single person who takes the time to comment. I feel like I know my them. It's a weird kind of intimacy, but it's an intimacy nonetheless.

Don't get me wrong...I don't begrudge the "a-list bloggers" their kajillion comments. And I don't really think their a-list status is due to any exclusionary behavior on their part. (well, in most cases) It's just one of those things...there are certain bloggers, just like there were certain teenaged girls in high school...that people are drawn to...for whatever reason.

But again, if I am honest, I have to say that it galls me when a blogger posts a four line post about something completely and utterly mundane and gets 86 comments, while another blogger writes a stunningly crafted, artfully descriptive and profoundly meaningful post, and garners a mere fraction as many, if that.

And again, I don't want to be misconstrued...we all need to laugh, we all need to poke fun at the minutiae that we are mired in, we all need some lighthearted silliness. And most of all, we all need to know that we are not alone. When the poop is flying and the breasts are leaking and nobody is sleeping...we need to connect with with other women who are in the trenches fighting the same war.

The so-called "mommy" blogs (and yes, I think the term does a grave injustice to the women who pen them) have their place and their purpose. It would be wrong to dismiss them as unimportant or irrelevant. It would be wrong to assume, that because their focus is parenting, they have no value.

But there are some stunningly talented writers, some incredibly insightful women, some profoundly kind and generous souls out there blogging. And it's a shame that they are often overlooked because they are not on every blogroll and blogring this side of the Google blog index. You just have to dig a little deeper to find them.

And that's why, contrary to what you might think of someone like me...I do really like blog awards. It's an opprotunity to unearth greatness beneath the mantle of mediocrity.

Now, I am not in anyway suggesting that I am one such blogger. But I have been privileged to receive two awards of late and I am glad of the opportunity to pass them along to bloggers who maybe don't have as wide an audience as they could or should.

Code Yellow Mom has very kindly awarded me the Blogger Reflection award, which is described as follows:

This award should make you reflect on five bloggers who have been an encouragement, a source of love, impacted you in some way, and have been a Godly example to you. Five Bloggers who when you reflect on them you get a sense of pride and joy... of knowing them and being blessed by them.

Well, since I am an agnostic with strong atheistic tendencies I'm going to have to take God out of the equation. But I can certainly get behind celebrating other bloggers and finding a sense of joy in the writings and insight of someone who inspires and uplifts just by sharing themselves with the world. If that nullifies the award, well....then, it isn't a very inclusive or accepting award and it's rubbish anyway. So for our purposes, we'll just assume that "blessed" is meant in the broader, more secular sense of the word, shall we?

With that in mind, I hereby award the following bloggers with this award:


FLUTTER.
This woman writes pictures. She writes pure pathos. She writes from her soul. Whether she is writing about the mundane or the arcane, she does it with stunning lyricism. Even recently, when she wrote about a horrifying experience as the victim of a sex crime, her words were almost too beautiful to describe an act of such ugliness. Flutter makes the writer in me want to stand up and holler "BRAVO!" And now, she is generously using her time and talent to benefit a very worth cause...Hunger. Go check out her "What Should Flutter Cook" donation drive. All proceeds benfit America's Second Harvest.

ONE PLUS TWO.
Ah, Jen. She humbles me with all that she's accomplished in her time on this earth. She is an advocate and a tireless champion for America's forgotten people. The Homeless. Her compassion, her generosity, her kindness, and her ability to look beyond wordly trappings or lack thereof...all make her, in my book, an inspiration and an example. A lot of people talk the talk, Jen walks the walk. Plus, she is an adventurous soul. She doesn't need material posessions or even indoor plumbing to find the richness in life. She makes her life rich by soaking up people and places.

ORTHOTIC CONTESSA
She is what I want to be when I grow up. A real writer. She's published and everything! Because unlike myself, who sits around bitching and moaning about becoming a real writer, she got off her butt and made it happen. I can't tell you how much I admire her for that. Brains, ambition, talent....she's got it all. And I don't think I have to mention that her writing is awesome, but I will, because she deserves to hear it. She's a great writer with a lot to say.

ANTIQUE MOMMY
AM is not a blogging neophyte, and she's already pretty well known. But I can't, in good conscience, leave her off of a list of bloggers that inspire and uplift me. Saying AM is a good writer is like saying that Anais Nin was a committed diarist. She has also shared with me her thoughts on religion, without judgement or criticism. She is a someone who doesn't need to broadcast her beliefs in order to be fully committed to them. She lives as she believes. She writes as she lives. And the combination is nothing short of spectacular. I respect and admire her as a writer, and as a Christian. And that's sayinig a lot, given my opinion of Christianity as a life choice.

CLOSER TO FINE
I keep tagging and awarding Nina, for like...everything. But that's because I want her to know how much she is valued and admired. She is brave (she came out as a lesbian at 40, divorced her husband, and hit the lesbian dating scene) and beautiful and has the soul of a true poet. She writes gorgeous poems and prose, she takes breathtaking pictures and she is one of the kindest, most giving people I have ever known in my life. I tagged her for the Stuart Smalley meme, and she said she couldn't do it. She has no idea what a special person she is, or how many people think so.

If you will girls, pass it on as you see fit.

I also need to thank Serving the Queens for the Rockin Blogger Award. She's pretty rockin herself, and I'd turn around and award it right back if she hadn't already been tagged. I've been privileged to receive this award several times before, but it still means a lot to me. Thanks bunches!

Unfortunately, I can't remember whom I have and have not already awarded, so forgive me for taking the easy way out and awarding the same gals as above. Who doesn't like a little double dipping, eh? Here's your sign: