Thanks for the Support!

“Have you finished with your temper tantrum?” she asked.

He threw the tennis ball across the room. “I am not having a temper tantrum!”

-an excerpt from Lightbringer, one of my    

 current works-in-progress

Man, I was mad the other day—the whole week, in fact. After re-reading my post I’m honestly surprised my member count didn’t go down! Just goes to show that ‘we all have one of those days.’  

Now I’m not sure if it was the day off, the blog awards from the always wonderful and ab-fab Diane Carlisle, or the delicious meatball sandwich I had for lunch, but I’m feeling pretty okay today! My outlook has changed a bit, my creativity is coming back and I am a little less stressed today than I was on Monday.

In fact, I think my temper tantrum might even be coming to a close—I hope it is, at least.

This could also have to do with the great support and feedback I received from the virtual world, so I’d like to thank all of you who cheered me up with your encouraging comments. If I knew you lot in person I’d ask you all to come over for movie night.

I have a couple of things on today’s agenda. Number one was to give an update on my mood swing. Check. Here’s number two: I want to sincerely thank Diane Carlisle for giving me two awards: “The Book It Award” and the “Fabulous Blog Ribbon,” which I will explain below. For those of you who’ve never read Diane’s blog, I absolutely recommend it. She has a way of teaching me life lessons while keeping things light and funny.

To receive The Booker Award the blog must be at least 50% about books (reading or writing). The recipient must share their top five favorite books (at least) and then pass the award on to five other bloggers.

I’m going to do this in the same fashion as Diane did it, by giving both awards to five different blogs. The bloggers will be listed once I’ve gone through both awards.

My 5 Favorite Books—in no particular order:

The Five People You Meet in Heaven, by Mitch Albom

Anything written by David Sedaris

August: Osage County by Tracy Letts (screenplay)

Dean Man’s Cell Phone by: Sarah Ruhl (screenplay)

Hater by David Moody

For the Fabulous Blog Ribbon the rules are to post the rules, name five fabulous moments (either real life or in the blogosphere), name five things you love, name five things you hate, and pass the ribbon on to five other bloggers (and let them know in their comments!).

My 5 Fabulous (Blogger) Moments
—in no particular order:

The first time I hit ‘post.’

Receiving my first comment

Snagging my first follower

Being acknowledged for acknowledging the ‘little guy’

Receiving this image from Candilynn Fite (She was trying to cheer me up and it worked!):

My 5 Things I Hate

People who put others down/ bullies

Loss

Vampires (sorry, gang—but I can’t stand them!)

Refusing to understand the other person’s point of view

The fact that Suzanne Collins basically re-wrote Battle Royale to a T and made millions of dollars off it.

My 5 Things I Love

My family

My job

My friends

My dogs

Myself

Here are the bloggers I’ve selected to receive these two awards:

Alan Ford

Candilynn Fite

Tonja’s Musings

Simon P. Clark

JW Alden ( I know you said you aren’t doing awards anymore, but you’re getting them anyway!)

Finally: How is this post relevant to you? Well, it might not be—but I hope it is. This post has been about the power of support, something I firmly believe in.

Support doesn’t have to be a huge endeavor. It can come in the form of a hug or a “Hang in there!” After all, it’s the little things that matter, right? So why wouldn’t that apply to making someone’s day?

Doing something as small as holding a hand or telling someone that they’re good enough can make a larger difference than you think. People appreciate the notice, they appreciate the thought—even if they don’t always know how to say it. The gratitude may be silent, but it is there. Just look for it in the person’s attitude.

You are doing a great thing by being compassionate. Small gestures add up to something that can go as far as changing someone’s life. Mitch Albom’s The Five People You Meet in Heaven is a great illustration of this. The little things do help—and I thank you all for the little things you’ve given me this week.

Until next time,

—R