I can count on one hand the amount of awards I have received.  But on my 53^nd birthday, just this past Saturday, December 14^th, I received my first nomination for The Versatile Bloggers Award from my new blogger friend Suzanne who has a blog entitled, “It Goes On” which  you can find at http://suzjones.wordpress.com/about/

I admit my first thought after reading the award rules was, are you kidding?  I don’t even know if I follow 15 other bloggers yet and can I navigate through the technology to get this done?

Along with all that goes into the holiday preparation and the fact that three of the four of us have December birthdays along with both of our mothers and two brother-in-laws, a great-niece and a few good friends?  Could I take this on and do it justice?

Just trying to keep up with blog posts in general during this month has been a bit of a challenge, but then I thought – this year has been a year of stretching me and learning LOTS of new things, so let’s just keep on plugging away until December 31^st.

So, despite the fact that I replied to Suzanne to thank her but to tell her I just couldn’t do it, here I go.  I struggle to recall how I found these blogs in the first place, probably muddling through WordPress and reading things that literally caught my eye. 

Some  blogs I follow because like me, these people are survivors of life’s losses.  Many of them are my heroes because they are still capable of getting up in the morning and continue to find the time and strength to write.  They were strangers to me before March when I began my blog with the intent to help others through “the valley of dark places.”  Ironically, all of them have helped ME. 

They help by teaching me new things about places I will probably never travel, or they teach me to be grateful for all the things I have.  Others give me an excuse to laugh when I am doing the serious job of accompanying others through their grief.  A few of them I am just beginning to explore but their sites left me interested and curious.  I hope that you will check them out and find the commonalities between you, like I have.

 My favorite fifteen:

1. Tersia Burger  http://tersiaburger.com/2013/12/
2. Knitting Rays of Hope  http://knittingraysofhope.wordpress.com/
3. A View from under the prep-room table  http://morguemouse.com/
4. Life as a Widower  http://lifeasawidower.com/about/
5. Forever 21  http://forphilip.com/
6. Allmostrelevant   http://allmostrelevant.com/
7. Notquiteold  http://notquiteold.wordpress.com/
8. The Simple Life of a Country Man’s Wife  http://thesimplecountrylife.com/
9. Tell Tale Therapy  http://telltaletherapy.wordpress.com/
10. Suzanne Rico – Walking Papers Blog  http://suzannerico.com/walking-papers-blog/
11. A Silver Voice from Ireland  http://thesilvervoice.wordpress.com/
12. A Smaller Life  http://onmytiptoes.com/
13. Aging Abundantly  http://agingabundantly.wordpress.com/?blogsub=confirmed#blog_subscription-5
14. Pat Bertram  http://ptbertram.wordpress.com/2011/12/15/what-do-you-say-to-someone-who-is-grieving-at-christmas/
15. DyanDiamond  http://dyandiamond.net/

Now the seven things about me that I need to tell Suzanne (the blogger who nominated me:

1. I have never been able to get more than a “screen door tan” (freckles).
2. One of my very few awards was for a craft project that won “Grand Champion” at the Wisconsin State Fair.
3. I love watching clouds and finding pictures of things in them.
4. I never forget a face and will try to figure out where I know you from, even if I become obnoxious in the process.
5. I was in an armed robbery when I was 16 yrs. old.
6. I want to be a “Snowbird” and live in CA or AZ at least part of the year when we retire.
7. I originally went to college as a dance major.

Thank you again Suzanne for nominating me for this award and for being the catalyst for me to once again learn something new.  Holiday Greetings to all of you awesome writers.