May 13, 2013

The Messy awards!

My house is messy, my kids are messy (except Alex - who is the neatest individual I know) and I never iron my clothes - thus I look messy at times!

Although not my favorite house decor, messy is just a part of my life these days. But with three kids in college next year (more on Alex in subsequent posts) I know this has been a temporary 18 year long digression in my life. Very soon, I can return to my own personal style, which I call "wanna be aging hippie".

Today one of the many talented bloggers I follow honored many other talented bloggers with the first ever "Messy" awards. These awards were not awarded on one's house, kid's rooms or clothing style. They were awarded by the very talented Vicki as follows:

"And here I present to you the first ever “Messy” awards. These awards are neither exclusive nor comprehensive, so please, take no offense if your writing is not listed here. In fact, feel free to drop me a note about your own or someone else’s writing that you think should be included. Who the heck am I to be presumptuous enough to bestow awards? I’m nobody, of course (so don’t go puttin’ this award on your resume just yet). Nobody but somebody who likes to read, write and share what I learn in my travels. And I’ve read many more great posts and articles than I could ever have the time to list here. So I picked mostly things that turned personal experience into something universal, or writing that challenged conventional wisdom or tackled a complicated topic. I hope to make this a permanent page, as soon as I figure out how to do that ☺

Despite the title, the awards have nothing to do with being a mess, or otherwise crazy like yours truly. This is simply a directory of some of my favorite writing about disability, usually Down syndrome in particular. Listed here, in no particular order, is writing that sang, that resonated long after I read it. Though I have shared many of these on my Thoroughly Modern Messy fan page on Facebook over time, I want to make sure that everyone knows about these wonderful, insightful writers who have made my days more interesting and my life richer. Please pick a few that appeal to you and start reading. Don’t forget to spend some time on these writers’ blogs too. You won’t be disappointed!"

In the tooting one's own horn category I was flabbergasted to receive one of these prestigious awards:

"BEST REMINDER THAT YOUR CHILD’S LIFE IS HERS, NOT YOURS:
If you are the parent of a young child with Down syndrome, make sure you follow this mom’s inspiring blog. Gary Hughes Bender writes about her adult daughter with warmth and grace at The Ordinary Life of an Extraordinary Girl: 

http://www.theextraordinarygirl.com/2012/12/186-miles-of-tears.html"

In all seriousness, I am very touched by this honor. Recognizing that all three of my children are leaving the nest and venturing out on their own has been the greatest challenge of my life. Recognizing and honoring Alex's hopes and visions for her future, just as I did with her siblings, has been the second greatest challenge, and making these dream a reality for her (not ME) has been one of my most rewarding challenges and I am only 20 years in to it! I appreciate the kudos.

Please follow Vicki, she is a very talented writer and shares a lot of great information:

Thoroughly Modern Messy

And one more thing.....thanks for not asking Alex to be one of the judges!

4 comments:

  1. This is so great, Gary! Thank you for writing an entire post about this!! And as for Alex being a judge, I think she'd have you nominated for an even better award. But that does get me thinking.....what happens when my son is old enough to read what I'm writing! Yikes! You are navigating tricky waters.

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    1. My pleasure! Yes, Alex does read these posts from the facebook page, she usually "likes" them, but sometimes gets mad if she does not like the picture I used. She feels like she is sort of a celebrity when she sees comments or likes on certain posts - so far so good. I keep asking her to contribute she is "thinking about it".

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  2. Well deserved I think...I was beyond touched when she awarded me my "Messy" award...just awesome...
    http://www.happysoulproject.com

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    1. I know...such a nice and surprising honor...well deserved for you!

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