Holy Cow, Batman! I got an award!

My friend, Jen, honored me with a blog award. You remember those, right? Back a couple years ago they flowed like water and I had gotten many of them but I think the novelty wore off (or I bored people into a coma, not sure which) because they stopped rolling in.

But anyway - I have one now!

Here is what Jen said about me:
•Casey. She is my oldest online friend. I "met" her on StorkNet while I was pregnant with Miss A and she was pregnant with her son. She is going through massive upheaval in her personal life, but she amazes me again and again with her grace and strength.

I'm not sure all that is true but thanks, Jen! :)



Apparently I am supposed to list 10 things I'm grateful for, as a condition of accepting this award. That shouldn't be too hard, right? Ok - so here goes:

1.Blogging and all of you who come here to read and support me. I love being able to come here and share about my life - the good and the not good and I am so thankful that 99% of you are here because you care and want the best for me.

2. My kids. Without them, I would never have started blogging in the first place and I would never have met so many great people. Oh - and they are pretty fantastic kids too. :)

3. My brother and sister because they have held me upright more times than not lately and even though we live hours away from each other I have felt their love, concern and care for me every single day.

4. My friends. Until recently I never realized what a big circle of friends right here in real life I had surrounding me. But here they are and they continue to show up, to call, to email, to invite me out, to hang out with me. They listen to everything I have to say and offer whatever they can to help. I've had friends take my daughter for the day so I could just be a mess. I've had friends bring coffee and flowers. I've had friends who check in often and make sure I'm doing ok and to see if I need anything. I had a friend from Illinois reach out on the phone today. I used to feel so alone but I don't anymore. I find that so ironic but I am thankful for it.

5. Dakota because even though this isn't the life I wanted she is being true to her word and doing what she can to help make this easier (hmm..that doesn't sound right but you know what I mean) for me and for the kids. I respect that she is standing by her word and I am thankful for that.

6. Coffee. Without it I don't know where I'd be.

7. Quelf and drinking games because for the first time in a long time, I was able to just be "Casey". To see glimpses of who I am instead of being "just mom" or "just the partner of the person in law school". It's nice to look in the mirror and see the person I used to see.

8. Text messaging. Now three months ago I never would have been thankful for it but since I got my fancy phone and now that I know I have a circle of friends, texting is a very easy way to connect with people.

9. I'm grateful this list of 10 is almost done. I am quite proud of myself that I've come up with this many without too much trouble. A month ago? I doubt I could have. And since this is just a silly grateful number, I'll add that I'm grateful that grief and pain has an upside: it's probably the strongest fat burner I've ever been in contact with. :)

10. Finally. The last one. I'm grateful that I am stronger than I thought I was. I'm grateful to know that, when the time is right, I won't be afraid to love again. I'm grateful to know that I. Can. Do. This.

Thanks for the award, Jen. You rock! :)