Thankful and Thank You!

I meant to write about the mid-August garden, but that post will have to wait another day or so. A few things have happened recently that overshadow the tomatoes.

Thank you, Sharon (Musings of a Midlife Mom), for naming me and seven others as recipients of the Humane Blog award:

"The Humane Award honors eight certain bloggers that I feel are kindhearted individuals. They regularly take part in my blog and always leave the sweetest comments. If it wasn't for them, my site would just be an ordinary blog. Their blogs are also amazing and are tastefully done on a daily basis. I thank them and look forward to our growing friendships through the blog world. Link back to the person who gifted you with the award and share the love with other bloggers."

I read Sharon's post and thought "how fun is that?" before I realized she had listed me as one of the honorees. At which point I went from thinking "how fun is that?" to "Awwwwwww, Sharon, you are so great!"

Sharon's act, along with the responses I have received to my most recent posts, makes me thankful for the community of Blogville. Look at how much we share through one another's blogs! In addition to my electronic friends, living in Blogville has given me a different forum through which to share my life with local friends and family. Between the comments posted online and the ones received through email and Facebook, I have had the strong support of my friends - all of you - as I struggled with medical issues recently.

All of it is wonderful and I am so thankful for the presence of all of you in my life. I was not expecting a community to form when I started blogging, but that is the great thing about making a community. You hit a critical mass and there it is!

There is something else I am thankful for and that is on the medical front. I went and got copies of my tests today. Skeletal survey: absolutely normal, which I knew it would be. As to the further lab test: results a little on the high side but not so high to make me drop the papers and say "what's that?" in a falsetto voice. In short, I feel comfortable in waiting to see my regular oncologist in October and letting him go from there. In the meantime, I go on with my life as I have been: fully and completely.

When Sharon named the recipients of the Humane Award, she charged us with naming eight other blogs and bloggers that we feel deserve recognition. My first thought was "I don't follow that many blogs!" But between the blogs I read regularly and the friends who have responded directly, I can make my eight and then some. The bloggers are:

Sharon at Musings of a Midlife Mom
Christine at Monkey Funk
Ellen at Within My Means
Jayme at Tales from the Coop Keeper
Jennifer at This & That Homestead

To that list add Margo, Cindy and Suzanne for your wonderful email responses to "I Paint What I See," Judy, Linda, Ben, and Alise for your heartfelt responses to the medical posts, and, as always, my very dear Warren, who lights me up each and every day.

I am so thankful you are all in my life. Thank you, thank you.