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Friday, July 27, 2007

Blogging Joy

Today I received the loveliest email from a very special lady. Carolyn at Mountain Meadows sent me a note to let me know about a post she had written after reading about my nephew Boo. Her words just warmed my heart and made my spirit soar. Carolyn truly does have the soul of a poet. I just want to say thank you to dear Carolyn and to all of you. When I began this blog last year, on October 20th, 2006, I really had no idea where it would lead. I just wanted to try it, have a little fun and, perhaps, use it to stay in touch with family and friends far away. It has become so much more. It is my creative outlet, my source of inspiration, support, my joy. I have discovered new friends that have become so very important to me. I have learned that we are all really so much alike. It does not matter where we live, what the color of our skin may be, the size of our house, or our family status. We are all different, we are all the same. We have each made connections that, without blogging, would not have been possible. I can not now imagine not checking in with Kim or Rhoda or Pat, Andrea, Sue, Lidy, Bethy to see what new tweak they have added to their decor. How sad I would be not to see how dear Pea's garden is prospering ot how Sharon Kay is up to! I would surely have missed out if I had been unable to check in with Corinne (our Jafabrit) and see what amazing work she was creating in her studio. I have come to depend on the creative inspiration of blogger friends like our house romantic Cindy, Rosemary in California, Sophie Honeysuckle in England, Jenny the Polka Dot Pixie, Donna at the Decorated House, Charlotte, Cherry, Deb K., Robin at Frecklefarm, Gold, Sugar Bear Karla, Kim and Toni at Rabbit Hill Creations. I feel so blessed to be able to share in the lovely photographs by special talents like Nature Girl and Betty Jo. I would have missed the connection I now have with Andi, Jen, Terri, Sheila, Missy, Teresa, Cheryl, Gretchen, Dawn, Valerie, Jolene, Coleen and so many others who now hold special places in my heart. I would not have come to know the precious faces of the children and their delightful stories that Melissa, Leona, Jill and our Brown English Muffin share every day. I would not have learned the lessons I now incorporate into my life from dear bloggers like Susie, Sioux, Connie, Betty Jo, Mari-Nanci, our Sheila in Canada and her beautiful daughter Blue. And, of course, what would I do without sweet Deb and her lovely girl, Kate, Lisa (our oceandreamer), Cassandra, Grace, Susie Q, Carolyn, Twinkle Pink's Ginny, Tammy, Chris, Country Pleasures and dear Rosemary. I would have missed out on the delicious writing that has, at once, made me laugh out loud and shed more than a few tears. Such talents like Pamela, Mama P., Brenda, Mom2Fur (Clare), Wendy, Carolyn... When I began this blog, I had a few detractors. There were a few who felt it was a waste of my time and just so much fluff. Needless to say, those people were wrong and are no longer near by to see how wrong they were. What a joy this blog has been to me. You are all so special to me. I have come to lean on your strengths and to learn from your teachings. You make me laugh and weep. I love seeing your children, your pets, your gardens, your homes. I feel that I have been able to delight in your happiness and to share in your painful experiences. I think the world of each and every one of you. I thank you for your love, your support, your prayers, your warmth, your compassion, your bright spirits. I wish I could hug each of you and tell you, face to face, what you have meant to me. Until I can, this will have to suffice. Much love and heartfelt thanks. Now and always.

28 comments:

Southern Heart said...

What a heartfelt, and heartwarming, post. I feel the very same way about you~

xoxo

Susie said...

((Suzie Q))
How sweet and touching this post is!
I have so many of the very same sentiments and also cherish my blogging friends..
xoxo

Sue said...

What a beautiful post. I feel the same way and couldn't have said it any better. Because of people like you the blog world is a better place.

Donna, The Decorated House said...

Bravo Sweet Suzie! It's been such an amazing adventure traveling in the Land of Blogs! Thank you for the time you put into making your site such a welcoming place to come by for a visit.

Donna
(The check arrived today.Thanks!)

Sheila said...

You are a very special lady, and I love to come here and refresh my spirit with your cheerful, and grateful attitude. I think having a blog is a bit like owning a pet, those that don't have them don't understand how attached and fond of them we become. Big hugs, and I'm so glad we 'met'...!
xo

jafabrit said...

What a lovely post. I have found blogging to be rewarding in so many ways. Rather than distract from my life, it has enriched it. I don't get where the detractors are coming from really. I am sure glad you didn't let them stop you from blogging :)

Brenda@CoffeeTeaBooks said...

Exactly my feelings about blogging!

Anonymous said...

wow what can I say. when would I ever had know she felt this way.
I am in the process of regrouping and renaming the group links...this will be more meaningful of a task then I ever dreamed of. I Thank-you very much. your blogging friend
xo
Robin

Jolene George said...

We ALL really LOVE you too Sue...honest!

Valerie said...

i love you, too.

Mrs. Geezerette said...

I have been visiting your blog for only a few months now. Okay, maybe it has been a few years with the way time flies. I don't recall how I came across your blog, Susie Q, but I am sure glad I found it. You are a sweet woman with a sense of humor that keeps people coming back to read what funny stuff you have written.

Encouraged by another blogger to establish my own blog after I left several lengthy comments at hers, I started my blog in October 2005. Perhaps this blogger was just trying to get rid of me.
:-( Oh, well.

Although I am not as dedicated to blogging as some and can't manage more than one or two posts a week, I am glad I started blogging. It has been a way to record my memories and current happenings with the family. It has been a way for my creative juices to flow.

Like you I have met several really nice people in blogland whom I would not have met otherwise. I have come to care about them to the point that I worry about them when they take off time from blogging. I wonder if everything is okay with them. I have even dreamt about fellow bloggers in those moments early in the morning when I am half asleep and half awake and I am wondering who has written what since the last time I checked the blogs. I have run across other bloggers who have had the same experiences. I have likened the blogs to a collection of small Internet neighborhoods where small groups of people gather first at this blog then another to leave their thoughts.

Anyway, your blog is a joy to read.

Carole Burant said...

((((Sue))))) Just know that the way you feel about us is exactly the same way we feel about you! I started blogging just over a year ago and never in a million years did I expect to meet such wonderful people that have made their way into my heart as you all have. I just don't know what I ever did without all of you before I started blogging:-) xoxo

Gill said...

From one blog addict to another, I salute you back tenfold! I love your blog and am happy we "met" too!!! Who knew computers would have this wonderful of an impact on our lives! Keep on blogging!
xo
Blue

Cassandra said...

What a nice post from such a wonderful sweetheart. Your blog is an inspiration to me and I am truly touched that mine is one that you spend some of your precious time reading!

Lisa Oceandreamer Swifka said...

This was beautiful, heartwarming, thoughtful, sweet, joyful, moving and genuinely Susie Q! I feel honored and blessed to be included among those you mentioned.
It is that sincerity, fabulous sense of humor, love for life, family and friends (and one Brian D) that drew me in the first time I came here...and I am ever so glad I did!
Blogging has been a a huge blessing in my life because without it - well I wouldn't know such amazing people all over the world. Amazing people like you.
Tell Grace I'm waiting for my invitation to one of her tea parties!
XOXOXO
Love and hugs,
Lisa

Sue Seibert said...

What a lovely, heartfelt post. You know I feel the same. This blogging has expanded my life so much!

Blessings today and always.

Sophie Honeysuckle said...

This is the lovliest post I have read, and it echoes so many of my own thoughts too! I am tempted to print it out, and keep it somewhere where I can read it often! xxx

Pamela said...

Don't you remember the first click on "create your own blog."????

There was a wall that separated you and you wanted to see what was on the other side...
once climbed, the view over the gate was a garden full of friendship.

Keep on blooming Susie Q!

Anonymous said...

Oh, Sue, you are a dear. A wonderful dear! I about fell out of my chair when I read the start of your post. And I was glued to my chair for the rest! Look what dear Boo has helped to start today. :-) You can be assured that my spirit has been soaring, out of a warmed heart also. Thank you sooooooo much for giving your spirit free reign to love, inspire, and lift ours, too!

What a beautiful, beautiful post. You said it all, and expressed so well, so many of our sentiments, too! Overflowing gratefulness is mutual towards you, too, my new friend!

Is life wonderful, or what?! Am so grateful that blogging has brought delights such as you into my life! I just know you are having a great week-end! :-)

Betty Jo said...

I just finished reading this with tears in my eyes. Susie Q. you are soooooo precious and have so summed up what I feel about blogging and my dear blogging friends all over the world. Thank you for expressing your heart, and mine. xoxo

Andrea Frazer said...

Ah, the fact that I made this list is so nice. I can cry and make you laugh in one line? Let's see.

"P.M.S.!!!! Poo poo on a stick walking in clown shoes!"

Did I do it again? Did I?

Anonymous said...

Sue, I am wiping the tears from my eyes as I type. I am so thrilled so many people are so connected by blogging. I LOVE visiting your cottage, and visiting with you, and your lovely family. You have made a difference to so many. I am very pleased I make you laugh, laughter is so important to me. I think you have explained beautifully the way we all feel. Thank heavens for blogs eh?

Anonymous said...

I'm back. :-) Seems you are destined to be one who inspires me in some wonderful directions! After reading your awesome words here, coupled with recent happenings, I decided to just to do a short post last night, to free me to focus my energies on connecting, and reconnecting with so many wonderful bloggers! What you have written here, transcends words. What a gift we have been given, through blogging. Thank you SO much!! Big hugs! :-)

Unknown said...

Such a great post! It's so true, we are all different and all the same. Finding that common ground between people that live all over the world and have vastly different stories is what is so amazing. I love to hear how much people enjoy their blogging friends and experiences. I feel the same way. It's such a blessing and an amazing connection to others. Thank you!

allie
www.mycozyhome.typepad.com

Justabeachkat said...

Susie Q

I fairly new to your blog, but I just had to comment on this post. It is beautifully written and it all is so true. I feel EXACTLY the same way about my experience in blogging. I feel very blessed to have met so many wonderful friends through blogging.

I really enjoy my visits here to your blog.

Hugs!
Kat

Dawn Bibbs said...

Sue, you are just the sweetest thing, ever! I too, feel very blessed and fortunate to have met so many wonderful friends via blogging. Hard to imagine that there was a time when I didn't even know what a BLOG was! And today, I almost can't imagine life without it.

I honestly feel that if all us, that read eachothers blogs everyday, almost without fail, were to meet face to face, it would be like seeing an old friend again. I feel that we'd give eachother big ole hugs and just pick up where we left off, so to speak, from the blog world.

ALL of you guys are awesome and I cherish the friendships that we've made. I welcome you all into my life and I thank you for welcoming me into yours.

Love ya BUNCHES!!

Debra from Bungalow said...

A very lovely post. I feel the same as you do about blogging, it has expanded my life and given me an outlet for some creativity and it's a great stress releiver too.

Anonymous said...

Pass the tissue... Sue, YOU are so very special to me. Thank you for being YOU and bringing so much sweetness into my little life.
xo,
Kim