Response

Ma chere La Belette Rouge has designated this blog a Brilliante Weblog 2008. I'm honored. When I started this blog back in the spring, I really didn't know what would become of it, but I' m glad I have a place to write more about the very unique relationship I have with MathMan.

So it is with that in mind that I'm going to share this honor with others. First things, first though. I'm going to take this opportunity to also answer a meme that I was tagged with by the one and only Betty Slocombe of Mrs. Slocombe Regrets. The objective of that meme is to describe unspectacular things about yourself.

I'm going to attempt to blend the two. Brilliante blogs with unspectacular things about myself. We'll know at the end of this post if it worked.

Unspectacular thing #1: I'm a raging Anglophile. I want so desperately to live in Agatha Christie's England circa 1937. In my fantasy, I am the served not the servant and I might even help solve a crime or two. Or I'm Miss Lemon to a fantasy Hercule Poirot. I could keep his files organized.

When I want to visit England without leaving my chair, I simply pop in a Miss Marple for background sound and head over to see Betty's England. The writing, the pictures, the words spelled with that British "u" we omit here on this side of the pond. It's like going home. Recently I left a comment there that the experience made me wonder about reincarnation. Have I lived there before? Perhaps the Miss Lemon character, as written by Agatha C. was based on another version of me? I love Mrs. Slocombe's blog for all that it has to offer. Brillante!

Unspectacular thing #2: I'm a mother. I've pushed people into the world and attempted to raise them. Oh yes, there's a desire to elevate motherhood to something extraordinary. Please don't think I'm an ass for saying this, but it isn't the act of having them that matters. It's what you do with them. The jury is still out on the job I'm doing with my own, but I want to introduce you to four completely different kinds of bloggers who are also mothers. I suspect that each takes a different approach to parenting, just as they do to blogging. Each of them is Brillante!

TheMom blogs at the Attentive Aphorist. Mother, grandmother, tenacious researcher, and funny observer of life, I've recently started reading TheMom's work. I found her through comments at Rich's and Miss Britt (I think) and we've bonded over politics. TheMom writes about family, real life issues and, of course, politics. She's a tight writer and wastes not one word. She goes right to the heart the matter and has her say. And she's really stayed on top of the McCain campaign and its lies. She pulls no punches about her own situation and weaves her life experiences into her pieces.

Jen Tucker who blogs live from Costa Rica at A Few Choice Words is another mother/blogger, but like all the women I mention here - she blogs about her children, her life and the things that strike her as funny or interesting. Or both. A master of dry wit and thinking humor, Jen never fails to get a chuckle out of me. I feel like Jen and I bonded when MathMan and I were going through our very short-lived separation. Jen was going through a similar transition and I found her to be a great support during that turbulent time. I love her written pieces, but when you go visit here, please make sure you click on her flickr pictures of her quilts. She's multi-talented as you'll see.

Jinky Bean is a fellow Hoosier. We discovered each other when I started this blog, I think. She writes a clever blog about everyday life, the ups and downs of running a household with two daughters, a husband, a job and a mom who sometimes needs to be looked after. Her posts are honest and funny, even when I suspect she's not feeling like things are much fun.

Dora blogs at Life's Laundry. She's a businesswoman, a wife, a mother and a burgeoning political activist. Dora asks a daily question that always makes me think. It's addicting to go and see what she's asking and respond. She writes beautifully about her interesting life as an entrepreneur, a mother of four, the wife of a MusicMan, and a tender of African Violets.

Unspectacular thing #3: I love flowers. Especially common ones. Hollyhocks, snapdragons, petunias, old fashioned roses. Zinnias. Morning glories, sunflowers.

Unspectacular thing #4: I am so glad I came home in May and stayed here. I think about all the moments I would have missed if I'd stayed in NYC and I get choked up. You know, running away from home isn't all bad. It made us all reassess how we deal with each other.

Unspectacular thing #5: I worry. About everything. The kids, money, my weight, time, my health, my aging parents, my friends, the direction this country is taking, the election, my job, my car, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.....

Unspectacular thing #5: I procrastinate. I was going to say something more about that, but there's always another post.....

Congratulations to those Brillante blogs!