small and simple things

Awesome Mom tagged me for this meme. I am thrilled that she thinks I make her think.

The rules:1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn't fit your blog).

Here are the five blogs that I have picked:

1) Mental Tesserae. This is a wonderful, thought provoking blog. She uses pieces of art to illustrate her topic of the moment in a terrific way. I like to see art through another person's eyes, because too often I find that I am looking at a painting, and not really looking at it. She makes me pause a bit and really take something in. I love that.

2) Thoroughly Mormon Millie. This gal makes me think about geneology. Even though my mom was a geneology freak and my grandmother actually has a geneological library named after her and records that made the Daughters of the American Revolution drool, I have never really gotten into the idea. I always said, "It's not my time and season." But, Millie is getting me thinking about how perhaps there can always be little moments for things, if we make a space for them. She is also flippin' funny, but this isn't flippin' funny blogger award, so.

3) Too Many to Count. I love this lady's accountings of her family. It's the "everyday-ness" of her blog that draws me in, and I find myself thinking about ways I can incorporate more meaning into little things. She also gets me thinking about family home evenings, and how to really make them special. She is also the mom of many children who has them in all stages. And watching her helps me to think about how to be the mom to each one effectively as they go through such different times of life, since I have them in all stages as well.

4) Life and Hope. Because she has VHL, reading this woman's posts so far (she is a pretty new blog) I am gaining a much better understanding for those who live with chronic illnesses that are passed down to their children, and the impact that has on all facets of life. She is also a dear IRL friend, and I have found from reading her posts that you can know a person and still not really "get" the struggles they have in life, or how they feel about certain things. I feel blessed that I have a window into her soul, so to speak, through her blog.

5) I am going to be weird and say me. I am learning more about myself and my thought processes through this blog than I ever imagined. Writing this blog has me thinking more about everything in my life: what brings me joy, what lessons I have learned, what experiences have changed and impacted me. I think about how the little moments are the ones with resonance. I think about how what I see or don't see in my everyday life influences how I see the world at large. I think more about what I am saying, how I am saying it, and who I am saying it to.