Courage

I woke this day to a pleasant surprise, finding on my blog an award from one of the most entertaining and tug-at-your-heart bloggers I have read, darth sardonic. An American whose wife is serving in the Armed Forces overseas, he is the stay-at-home-dad to two of the most prolifically quip-py youngsters on the continent. He has said they have special challenges, but obviously not in the quick come back department. His blog is full of the same heartache and joy that all of us who are parents know, and the struggle to get through life having done your best, that everyone can recognize. He is one of those people I am sure never to have known except for the Blog world, but I hope someday to sit down and have a cup of tea with him and meet his family who I feel I have come to know. My favorite part of his blog is his obvious love and devotion to his wife and children, not voiced as Keats but more “Pulp Fiction” meets “The Fockers”.

To my mind he is indeed Courageous, and to receive such an accolade from him is an honor. I thank you sir.

This is an award I shall take great delight in passing on,

My first awardees are Pamela Jean at Coming 2 Terms, and KarenO at Upon Awakening. My reasons for these two choices are numerous: these two women have taught me about the heartbreak of infertility and the courage of overcoming such heartache. It is not an issue that crosses the minds of us who do not have this problem, and especially us who are blessed with children. I fear I was part of the ignorant, if well meaning, public who has the view that this is only a small part of the life of anyone who faces it, and there are substitutes to be had. I have been wrong before, but oh my! I am so grateful to both these women for educating me. PJ has dedicated her blog to this purpose, the education of those of us who do not know because we are not of that world, and giving solace to those who are, by giving them a voice. Kareno gives a more personal insight to her life of surviving infertility and a husband (a right proper sod to my mind) who left her because of it; in addition she is a teacher. All of you who read my blog regularly know I think that is reason enough for any and all awards. So to these two outstanding women I give the Courageous Blogger Award.

My third candidate is Mutterins from the Mill for her courageous and continuing fight on behalf of her daughter in the face of difficulties put in her path by society and government. In addition she has the ability to wax poetic now and again, and rears two sons just as a sideline! Mothers and Fathers when they rear up in the protective stance of a tiger fighting for their young bring a tear to my eye, and me to my feet cheering. So here’s to you @themill, the Courageous Blogger Award.

Fourth to list is Jenny at Mountain Mama. I know darth named you already, but I think it can be said twice. You have what many name a disability but I see that nowhere in your blog. This is a blog filled with love – love of family, love of life, love of the ordinary happenings of life told with humor and frankness, love of yard sales (I have no idea), and love of making jam. I don’t salute you for living with deafness, I salute you for being an example of how to live a life filled with love and finding fulfillment in the usefulness of a life well lived. Here’s to you Jenny, the Courageous Blogger Award.

My final choice goes to Long Way Home. Yes, I know she is my daughter, but I have other reasons. She has overcome some difficulties in her young life, both emotional and physical, and she has excelled. She has such an exemplary sense of honor and loyalty, and that is how she lives her life. She chose to tackle the wilds of Alaska one summer during her university years, facing physical challenges that terrified her. Courage is not the art of not being frightened, that’s stupidity; courage is being frightened and forging ahead in spite of it. She took on a year in a foreign country that is neither easy nor posh, and has acclimated so well she is often mistaken for a Moroccan. Lastly, she uses her blog to take stands on issues that are important to her; she does not always take the side, or choose the issue that is popular or easy. For all those reasons, and because I am so proud to be her mother I give the Courageous Blogger Award to scarlettscion. Here’s to you dearest.

I think it takes a certain amount of courage just to meet the daily challenges of life on earth. I have so much respect for the men and women all over the planet that get up every day and go to a job that is boring, difficult, or demeaning in order to feed and care for their families. They do this day after day, year after year. That is courage. The millions of people world wide that deal with the pain of devastating diseases every day, the suffers of chronic pain, the parents who have chronically or terminally ill children, the adult children taking care of sick or aging parents, the men and women on both sides of the line fighting for what they believe to be true. That’s courage. The parents all over the world, in less than fortunate circumstances, working to do whatever is necessary to give their children a better chance in life. That’s courage. People who give their time and money to alleviate the suffering of others – from the celebrities lending their names and donating their money, to the men and women in the trenches who dedicate their lives to not only what is the care of those less fortunate, but is indeed the betterment of the planet. That is courage. Everyone who has ever taken a stand against prejudice no matter what face it presents. That’s courage. Every child who has survived abuse, be it emotional, sexual, or physical, who went on to adulthood and did not continue the cycle. That is courage. Anyone who has taken on a career in teaching, and performed it with passion and caring in the face of apathy and even physical danger. That is courage. Every leader who has taken the path of peace instead of war. That is courage.

That’s it lovely readers. I don’t think I can add anything to this post that would not be coals to Newcastle. May we each live our lives with passion, compassion, and the courage to forge ahead into adventure, in the attempt to make the planet a better part of the Universe.

Ciao