My very first award!  Ever!  Given by peers.  And, the WordPress community.  And I’d like to thank……….

I was about to go to bed.  It was not really that late.  I just go to bed early.

I decided to look at my email one last time.  There was new mail!  I scanned down the list.   There were several spam emails and something from Yahoo!Services confirming a password change.  I had been hacked earlier this year.  Twice.  What an exhausting experience!  The first time ~ Emails were being sent out to everyone on my contact list telling them of a grand plan I had for helping them to earn millions of dollars.  A few weeks later, that was followed up with an email telling them how to shed the unsightly pounds I had noticed they gained.  *horrifying.*

I continued to scan through the emails.  There was an email from WordPress. FUN!  WP always sends out something interesting.  I opened it and saw a pink medallion.  It was labeled ~ “The Liebster Award.”  Hmm.  I read through the contents of the email.  My heart did a little flip.  I had been nominated for an award?!  By my peers.  And readers.  And the WordPress community!

Clark was sitting next to me.  He was sitting there engrossed in a “who done it”  cop show as I was getting my very first writing award ever!  It was exciting!  Thrilling!  I spastically turned to him and told him I had won an award.  He never took his eyes off the TV.  “hmmm?”  (His show was just getting to the good part.)

I was excited!  I read the email again.  Hooray!  It was an award!  The Liebster Award!  Oh, this was such exciting news.  The hubs finally caught wind of my excitement.  He looked at me with a blank stare on his face.   I told him again of the email.  Oh, I was thrilled!  He grinned at me.  He could see how caught up I was in the excitement!  Then he turned back to his cop show.

A few minutes earlier I could hardly keep my eyes opened.  I was going to turn in for the night.  Then this!  Oh, what a piece of good fortune!  It was unexpected!  I’m sure I was experiencing the same emotions that very famous actors feel when they get that much coveted phone call with news of an Oscar nomination! How would I ever fall asleep?  Pulitzer Prize here I come!!

The excitement of the award was still with me when I woke up the next day.   I went to my PC to read the email again.   My enthusiasm came to somewhat of a slow halt as I read the fine print.

There was a protocol to follow.  There were questions to answer.  Okay, It was a lot of work being an award-winning writer.  It was going to be time-consuming.  Between my work schedule and my busy week, I did not know when I was going to fit in writing an acceptance speech!  I had a full agenda that day.  I had texts and calls to return from the day before.  I had to go get the oil changed in my car!  (Something I had been putting off for months.  I was now 2000 miles overdue.)

Knowing that I had a full plate, I started to swiftly move through my morning.  I dropped my razor on my toe as I rushed through my shower.  I looked down as I was getting dressed.  Rats!  My toe was bleeding.  I grabbed some toilet paper to stick to the wound.  I got dressed and then crammed my foot into my sandal.  I decided on this very important day,  I’d wear something nice.  I’d also wear my fancy sandals!  The toilet paper looked oddly out-of-place peeping through my strappy summer footwear.   This was NOT how an award-winning writer should start her day.

As I ran my errands and accomplished my goals, the thought of my Liebster Award was never too far from my thoughts.  I was caught daydreaming at a red light by an angry driver behind me. He honked when I did not notice the light change.  At the next stop light, the same driver was this time stopped next to me.  I looked out my window at him and wondered how he would feel if he knew he had just blasted his horn at an award-winning writer!

My day progressed ~ I started to calm down.  I got everything done on my “to do” list.   I gave my car the much needed attention it was due.  I returned all my calls.  I texted my friends and made plans.  Every now and then, I’d think about the exciting news.  My ego would swell a bit at each thought of my new award.

As is our practice, I talked to Clark a few times throughout the day.  I found the opportunity on each phone call to tell him again how wonderful my new award was!!

Finally,  on his last call to me from work that day, he asked me if I had decided what to wear to the awards ceremony.  I smiled.  And laughed.  Clark is not only über hot ~ he is also witty!  He has a way of putting things into perspective for me when I tend to blow them out of proportion.  He keeps me grounded.  He helps to keep me from getting too big for my britches.

That night, I sat down and once again looked at the protocol expected of me for this nomination.  I carefully followed through all the guidelines.  I looked over the questions and gave careful consideration to the answers I would give each one.  I wrote a note to the sweet writer who took the time to find my blog, read my posts, and give me a nomination.  I thanked her for her thoughtfulness.  I was humbled and honored and felt such happiness in the acknowledgment.

Liebster: a word of German descent meaning beloved and lovely.  Kind, pleasant & valued. Endearing and welcome.  It is an award which was started in Germany to give recognition to great bloggers.  How lovely!

Passion for writing has always been my motivation behind my blog.  When your writing gets acknowledged by someone you have never met, it makes your efforts all the sweeter and your heart swells a bit.  My love of writing is a true blessing in my life.  It is a blessing that I do not take for granted.

As I finish up this post, I think about what prompted me to write it and my tagline comes to mind ~ I Will One Day Write a Book.

The Liebster Award