You like me, You really like me! (Or at least somebody does.)

When Sally Field (quite perfectly type-cast as both Gidget and The Flying Nun) accepted her Oscar for Places In the Heart in 1985, this was her speech: "You like me, you really like me!" Or at least that's how it's remembered. She acknowledged an unorthodox career path, suddenly stepping into these serious, grown-up roles, after a long line of chirpy teenage shenanigans. She seemed genuinely amazed that anyone appreciated her work, or even took it seriously. But there was something so vulnerable and personal about her response as well. That speech endeared her to us by revealing her insecurity, some vulnerability, and quite possibly genuine humility. At the height of her acting career.

I'm not at the height of ANY of my careers right now. And I certainly haven't won an Oscar. But I feel a little like Sally Field right now, standing at a podium receiving an award for something very-not-Gidget that it turns out she could do. I guess even Gidget has to grow up.

This week I received some modest fanfare in Bloglandia. And I am a little bit surprised. Don't get me wrong. These are not REMOTELY the Academy Awards of the blogosphere. But they are validations. They say, in short, that somebody likes me. Because they like my work. In a world I entered on a whim. And now after serendipitous turns and rich acquaintances, I find myself rather enamored with this newly-discovered cyber-world, Bloglandia. So maybe the blogiverse is feeling my love, and sending it back to me.

A few days ago, a blogger extraordinaire, my friend in life and online, Brillig, handed me this award, specifically for this post. Thank you, Brillig! I was speechless. I'm not quite sure how this works, but I think I'm supposed to pass it along to someone ELSE I think is brilliant. So I'm handing it off to Jessica at One Wild and Precious Life for this beautiful post that my friend Heather at the EO discovered for me. Thanks, Heather, and Congratulations, Jessica. I'm a fan.


And today, the Blogger's Annex published this post (slightly shortened and reworked) among their showcase of the best-of-the-best in Bloglandia. I was happy — and truly, honored — to share the spotlight with so many great writers there, many of whom probably don't even know they are my mentors and idols. If you haven't visited the Bloggers Annex yet, you must. Here's the link again, in case you missed it the first three times around. (I'm sure you've been dying to know what that chic button in my sidebar was all about....)


And finally, a wonderful new friend, Mrs4444, stopped by my blog today after catching said post on said site, and commented on every post she could scroll down and read here at Divergent Pathways. I was able to track her down on her on own site, here, and this is what I found:

"Recommendation: I want to share a powerful post, This Hate Cycle, written by Brillig, whose blog is one in my Top Favorites list. This post was featured on a new site called BloggersAnnex, which has the goal of posting one excellent post each day, Monday through Friday, chosen from contributors like you and me. Looks to me like they definitely reached that goal with Brillig's post. I also found my latest favorite blog there, Divergent Pathways. I LOVE it!"

Who knew?!? Thank you, Mrs4444! Fun to discover we have so much in common.

Now, I'm going to be away for the next several days on vacation (the highlight of which just may be visiting my friend Brillig in real life in her new house in Denver! I might even call her by her real name...because it turns out nobody actually christened her Brillig. Haha! ). So I apologize in advance for not reading and commenting on your wonderful posts for a few days. I'll be taking a little break from my life in the cyberworld to enjoy life in the REAL world, making real connections with my very real husband (you can read about him here, here, here, and here.)

So you might not see me for a week or so. But I'll stop by when I get home. And we'll catch up. In the meantime, just try to remember how much you like me. :)