Typically, I don’t do the blog awards much anymore because I take them seriously, and done correctly they take a lot of time.  If you know me, I tend to write about everything under the sun, which usually comes from the inspirations I get reading blogs I follow.  Sometimes, I draw from the trials and tribulations of my own personal life in addition to the joys. So basically, I’m all over the board.

That said, I unquestionably appreciate being recognized as consequential to the blogosphere by Jim at bgddyjim  who was nominated by Anna at Storm in a Wine Glass.  So these are his questions for me:

1.  What makes you cry for joy?  This is actually easy.  I love hearing and learning of my friends successes and achievements.  I love it when one of my blogging friends publishes a book or achieves a milestone. I love it when my kids make headway in their own lives or when someone I met years ago actually remembers me after the one time we ever did anything, ie  The Hollywood Dance-athon for Breast Cancer where we danced nonstop for 12 hours.  Yes, I may have been in my late 60’s and these young men in their early 30’s but I kept up and they remember.  I only mention it, because I got an Instagram note from one of them five years later, wondering how I was holding up during lockdown and it made me feel pretty special.
2. 2. Favorite book and why?  The Bible.  It is never outdated and there’s advice for anyone for anything in it, if you know where to look.  I’m not terribly religious or attend a church as regularly as I used to, but I still hold it in high regard for the valuable advice it has to offer.
3. Describe your perfect moment of the day.  This one is actually tough, because just waking up is the best moment. I especially cherish sunny days though, because I must admit I’m a sunshine girl and function best when the sun is out.
4. Your best quality?  I think my best quality is my eagerness and willingness to help others when in need.  I loved working and volunteering for Red Cross for many years.
5. Is there anything you struggle with that you’re continuously working on overcoming?  In conjunction with #4,  knowing my limitations and restraining myself from thinking I’m the solution to everything. I have to remind myself I’m almost 74 and I can’t do it all. lol
6. The best piece of advice you ever received?  Wow!  This is tough.  I think the best advice I got was from a friend of mine years ago.  She noticed that I was quite the chameleon always trying to change to everyone’s expectations, always trying to please others.  She told me I could be liked for just being myself and it was okay if I didn’t please everyone. It was hard because my mom, bless her heart, had drummed it in my head that I wasn’t good enough and that I had to fit into this mold of “goodness”, which I could never live up to. In her own ignorant way she wanted me to be goal oriented, but it came out wrong.  I realized that years later.  She did mean well though and I had to forgive her for it..
7. Describe what ‘hope’ means to you.  Hope and faith are akin to one another and it is the desired expectation of something I look forward to today and always.  I hope  I can be patient and tolerant with my fellow beings and that love and kindness will abound in their spirits and when it doesn’t I hope I can forgive.
8. What is the bravest thing you’ve ever done? For the record – I mean true bravery! Doing a sky dive isn’t brave if it doesn’t scare you. Bravery is doing something that scares the shit out of you!  I’m a daredevil, always have been, so my skydiving feat was daring but not brave. When I first read this, I kept getting heroic and brave mixed up.  Are they one and the same?  I don’t know.  I think my first rock climb on a rope was the bravest thing I’ve ever done, because it literally did scare me nearly to death.  Heights scare me to death and dangling from a rope, relying on someone else to keep me safe was scary.  I remember when I finally got to the top, my mouth was dry like it was full of cotton and I could hardly get the words, “I did it!” out.  Yeah, taking that first step was the bravest thing I ever did.
9. What did Little You want to be when he/she grew up?  An actor/dancer/singer.
10. Looking at a photo of Little You, what advice would you give him/her? You’re going to be okay. You will be loved the right way. Be decisive.  Stay focused on school and learning. Look at yourself with kinder eyes and don’t let anyone keep you from your dreams.
11. ….and what advice would Little You give the you of here and now?  Little me would look at big me now and say, “Don’t hide, your dreams are still important and don’t worry so much about your kids, they are going to be alright.  You did a good job, they’ll figure things out and trust in that.

I’m not going to nominate other bloggers, per se, though I’ll list a few I respect and if they choose to answer the same questions above, well they’ve been awarded the Liebster Award, too.  I know these tend to go around in spurts, so I won’t be offended if they don’t reply.

https://booomcha.com/

https://notewords.wordpress.com/

https://beautybeyondbones.com/

https://cocinaitaly.wordpress.com/

https://charlesfrenchonwordsreadingandwriting.wordpress.com/

https://swo8.wordpress.com/

https://amehrling.com/

https://piermanparis.com/