The Versatile Blogger Award

Alex from Ma, What’s for Dinner made my day Friday when she informed me I was one of the bloggers she recently discovered and think – wait for it – I am fantastic.

Fantastic.

I am truly honoured I made Alex’s list.

So here are the rules:

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award.
2. Share seven things about yourself.
3. Pass this award along to bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic for whatever reason.

1. Thank you again, Alex. I strive to be versatile so this award means a lot.

2. Seven things about myself…
• I am a mom to an almost 20-year-old stepdaughter and an almost two-year-old son. So I know all about how fast time flies.

• I survived a child in the preteen years and have almost made it through the teen years. I will take a teenager over a pre-teen any day.

• I have dreams of being a SAHM, however, reality forces me to get up every day and go to my job as a copy editor/web writer at a Toronto community newspaper chain.

• It has finally happened. I am officially old. I used to be the youngest person at the office and now I am one of the oldest. The music of my youth is now considered oldies. I haven’t been in school in 14 years.

• Blue and yellow are my favourite colours. I am slowly getting the blue and yellow house of my dreams.

• I have been married for five years, with my husband for 11, owning our current house together for nine.

• Baking bread, the smell of flour out of the freezer, fresh-cut grass and vanilla are smells I never tire of.

3. And the bloggers who I would like to nominate for the Versatile Blogger Award are:

http://mz-cellaneous.blogspot.com - From how to prevent sweaty boobs to her desire for a long-horned cow, this blogger always keeps me entertained.


www.honeyandjam.com – This homeschooled girl takes fabulous pictures.

http://lady-mama.blogspot.com - If I wasn’t afraid of becoming a stalker, I would actually like to hang out at this British-Canadian woman’s house.

http://lindyandree.blogspot.com/ - Food, photos and fun wraps up this woman’s blog

http://me-myself-and-pie.blogspot.com - I want to live near this blogger’s house so she can make me breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, particularly strawberry shortcake.

http://octoberfarm.blogspot.com - If I didn’t have to deal with tornadoes, I would also like to live near this blogger who bakes bread often. Bread. Yum. Besides, she has a countdown to Halloween on her blog. Bread and Halloween. Perfect.

http://rainforestmommy.blogspot.com - This blogger lives in the rainforest with her precious boy and tons of animals. Her life seems quite exciting.

http://thekatherinewheel.blogspot.com - I really like this blogger. Her writing always keeps me reading.

Sue This

I heard on the radio this morning two families are suing a local hockey league for the physiological damages suffered by their 15-year-old boys when the teens were cut from their hockey teams.

I think the boys may suffer from more psychological damage when their friends and peers find out who they are and torment them not being able to handle being cut.

This ridiculous story – and I hope the judge slams the parents for wasting people’s time and money – is part of the problem with today’s kids.

Many of today’s youth have a sense of entitlement, a feeling they should get what they want when they want it without having to work for it.

It makes working with these people difficult and frustrating. It also makes for a tough reality when these children realize some people get what they want and others don’t, and their future isn’t as easy as they expected.

This story also angers me because these hockey parents have made it about them. Did it really cause their children psychological damage or are they embarrassed their sons couldn’t cut it?

If these parents don’t think their children can handle the emotional scarring of being cut from a team, then they should not sign their children up for anything that involves a skill whether that is sports, music, the arts or a job.

Case in point. When I worked a newspaper northeast of the city, I hosted contests. As a fan of Halloween, I hosted a writing contest, asking kids to pen a spooky Halloween story.

I awarded the winner and printed his story in the local newspaper. A parent, whose child did not win, called me and proceeded to yell at me, claiming her child’s story was better and deserved to win. She also went on to tell me the other child (please note, child) obviously plagiarized her piece.

Parents were also known to call the editor to ask if their child could work with us. The editor always politely told the women – note mothers – their children should make the phone call if they were actually interested in a job.

Parents, I understand we want to save our children from disappointment and heartache, however, life is not always a happy place. Sometimes it’s filled with disappointment.

Demanding our children never be cut from a team, always win a prize and get what they want creates an unrealistic world, and one where children haven’t been able to really live.

A Special Thank You
Alex from Ma, What's for Dinner awarded me the Versatile Blogger Award Friday. With the short deadlines because of Canada Day Thursday and this story, I haven't had a chance to properly thank her, which I will do tomorrow.

In the meantime, thank you, Alex, I am honoured.