Category — The Grateful Said

The Grateful Said is your way of honouring someone who left a good comment on your post.  Of course, most people had more than one comment each year that they cherished, so it was difficult to choose just one that changed the way you saw your own situation, brought you comfort, were the right words at the right time, or gave you food for thought.

If your blog is not on this list and you wish to participate, this list will be updated until February 28, 2011.  Please read this post and follow the directions to get your blog post and favourite comment listed.

The Grateful Said of 2010

1. From The Celebratory Society this comment by Kir: I remember coming to your blog, finding it, and feeling like I came home. I laughed, I cried a little, I visited often. We emailed (I have kept the email you sent to me about your children saying “GOOD BABY” instead of “GOOD BETA”). I read it about once a month to remind me that so many people were with me in the trenches.
2. From Results are in… this comment by Loveshackbaby: My dog peed on me during insemination once! Yea, she pushed the door open, came in and peed on my foot while we were “taking care of business”.
3. From Enough this comment by Lastchanceivf: But you are enough. Ask any of your students, ask your husband, ask any of the people whose lives you have touched and they will tell you…you just have to believe it 🙂
4. From Context and Culture: When 8 year olds weave carpets this comment by BattyNurse: How sad that this 8 year old had to work and spend months making the rug. Sadder still that she was probably paid very little do it. That said you can look back at even our own culture 100 years ago and children worked. It may have been work at home, around the farm etc and was called chores.
5. From My Scarlet Pain this comment by Augusta: …Those who love you and are close to you understand, as you do, that you deserve the totality of your feelings because they belong to you. So laughing with your best friend does not mean that the immense pain goes away. You know that. She knows that..
6. From Celebratory Society this comment by Kristin: I love the honesty of your writing. There doesn’t seem to be a subject you are afraid to tackle. I also love that all the emotions you are feeling can be felt through your written word. You are an extremely talented writer and I’m glad you are sharing your journey with us.
7. From Defining Moments this comment by Augusta: I hold this possibility with so much hope. May you and your husband and the donor family be blessed with a child. And may there come a spring when, holding this child in your arm, you go over to Lily’s tree and admire its beautiful blooms.
8. From A Tale of Two Cesareans, Part II this comment by Laine: oh, sweetie. I have been thinking of you, worried when you took so long to post again . . . Hang on to your knowledge of who you are. Hugs.
9. From Need a Break this comment by Nims (Lynne): I have been following you here since you left FF, erm… a year and a half ago-ish? I am a silent supporter of many blogs, thinking good thoughts for the people who need them, and I have thought about you and wished for you many times, though…
10. From Omega and Alpha this comment by Areyoukiddingme: It takes courage to let go. Most people think that the courageous are those who take risks, but there is a lot of courage in turning away from things you want too. Much luck, and enjoy your beautiful children.
11. From My Sister Is A Clown this comment by CW: …. but I know I can here, is that now feeling so incredibly less stressed I realise that no baby (ivf or natural) could inhabit in such a tight angry and emotional womb….
12. From Equations this comment by Nuts In May: When I am very angry and sad about the lack of living babies in my own life, I have been known to feel furiously angry with women (random, strangers-to-me women) complaining about pregnancy and motherhood. Really?
13. From It Always Comes Back to Sleeping this comment by Ella: THANK YOU for this post! We are doing the exact same thing with Eliza that you did with Henry. She’s 10 months old and she’s still not STTN, she IS nursing to sleep and we DO go to her when she cries and we DO rock her to sleep sometimes, too. And… we know it is the right thing to do.
14. From The Return of Annacyclopedia, Angry Dork this comment by PaleMother: I felt that big time after #1. Like I’d gotten snapped in the face with a giant Rubber Band Of Truth that had been stretched as far back as it could go without breaking altogether.
15. From A Quarter in a Week this comment by Mandi: Hang in there! I remember how hard holidays were too. I’m pretty sure at one point I told God I was over holidays and could care less unless he could prove to me I had a reason to care. It’ll happen in the right time with the right kid(s) and you’ll be in total awe. I still am!
16. From Connections and Opportunities this comment by Krista: You inspire me every time I read this blog in so many ways. I feel like I am a better person just knowing you because you are so thoughtful, sensitive, and giving. You are going to make unbelievable parents and your little one to be is so lucky!
17. From Identity and Change this comment by Corey Heller: ….when it comes down to it, when we ask ourselves the really deep questions that mean the most, it comes to what you write about in this post. It is about what it means to be who we are in this confusing yet beautiful bicultural mix.
18. From Why this comment by Wyatt & Co: I’ve reached the conclusion that there is not one logical thing about giving birth to children. It is the most intense biological desire and the most intense love imaginable, but from a logical perspective, I don’t see any reason to give birth to a child. If you want to see change in the world, you can do more so by adopting a child. It is simply the desire to experience incredible love for another but I don’t chalk that up to logic.
19. From Cash, Check, or Charge? this comment by Randl: If there is one thing I know about you is that when you put your mind to something there is nothing that will stand in your way to reaching it. Have faith in God and have faith in modern medicine.
20. From Drawing Lines this comment by Esperanza: First of all, I LOVE your blog’s title. I totally felt that way after my ectopic but never found the words. I feel like, reading those words together, a who time in my life feels more settled. It’s hard to explain…
21. From Not Yet a Year and Change this comment by Lori Lavender Luz: One thing I’ve had to allow in open adoption is that “presence” can have a bigger meaning than it used to. The bond of love among people can be called on to compensate for a lack of physical presence.
22. From Thoughtful Thursday: Inferior this comment by Ernessa: So yeah, sometimes I feel inferior for like a minute or two, then it kind of passes and I’m happy being me again. But oh man, did it take a lot of work to get to just happy being me.
23. From Teasing It Out this comment by Orodemniades: Are you afraid that the adoption will fail? Or are you afraid it will succeed?  Or is this really all about control – and the lack thereof?
24. From Blessed this comment by Adele: Lovely baby! Lovely, beloved baby, as well. The degree to which you have provided this love comes across so strongly. Traditions ARE important. It’s so easy to shrug them off in our cynical age. But they mark things, acknowledge the huge changes in life.
25. From Painful memories. Believe in Hope. this comment by Augusta: I go back in time. I make myself transparent. I go into the ultrasound room. I wipe your tears and stroke your hair. Thanks for reminding us to believe in hope. I believe it when you say it.
26. From Head Knowledge To Heart Knowledge… this comment by samcy:  …I am happy to hear is that you are allowing God to use this hardship to nurture and grow your relationship with Him. That is no mean feat, it’s too easy for us to turn our backs on Him in anger and mistrust.  You are a shining light for many of us …
27. You can add your post and favourite comment to this list by following the directions over here.

Within a comment, Texicali Girl asked an important question: why isn’t there a Creme-de-la-Creme-like post for best comments?  Especially when comments are obviously very important to me with IComLeavWe?

Introducing: The Grateful Said of 2010 — the best comments from the ALI blogosphere*.

Which means diving back into your posts from 2010 and finding a comment (because there were probably dozens) that changed the way you saw your own situation, brought you comfort, were the right words at the right time, or gave you food for thought.

In other words, this is your way of honouring someone who left a good comment on your post.  And it will hopefully encourage people to write great comments throughout the year knowing that they could end up on this list come the next January (oh yes, my friends, this will go hand-in-hand with the Creme in future years).

To Participate:

• Look at 2010 Posts: Go look through your 2010 archives and find a good comment to honour.  There are probably dozens of comments that fit the bill, but just choose one.  Make sure it was written in 2010 and that the post was from 2010.
• Fill Out the Form: Fill out this form which asks for the url of your post (please cut-and-paste it) as well as three lines or so from the comment.  If the comment is 4 lines total, round up.  But if it’s more than 4 lines, please just clip 3 lines from it for the sake of space.
• Make Sure You See This Screen: You will see a “congratulations” screen after filling out the form that lets you know that you’re on the list.
• Wait for the List to Go Up: Check back on February 1st when The Grateful Said of 2010 goes up.  The list will remain open until February 28th.
• Spread the Word: If you want to help spread the word, I’d be eternally grateful.  You can grab the icon, write about it on Twitter or Facebook, blog it, or gently nudge friends by pointing out a rockin’ comment you left back in 2010 on their blog.

* I bet you’re wondering how this project got its name.  Well that, my friends, is a funny story about my own mondegreen.  The suggestion came from Texicali Girl, and I was misremembering the Grateful Dead song Mexicali Blues as “Texicali Blues.”  So instead of the Grateful Dead, it’s the Grateful Said (because you’re grateful that someone said it).  So I set the name and made the icon and THEN I realized that it’s Mexicali and not Texicali.  So… there you go.