It’s Fun Mail Season! It’s so nice to open the mailbox to see something other than flyers – which I still get because the fellow who delivers them is developmentally disabled and I will NOT put him out of a job, I just recycle them upon receipt – and the occasional request for funding. Fun Mail Season reminds me of when I was a Sweet Young Thing and used to get letters from all my pen pals, and sometimes even LOVE LETTERS from far-away would-be suitors, which makes me sound like I’m in a Jane Austen novel, but the letters often contained descriptions about parties attended and how their friends drank themselves senseless, which I am pretty sure Marianne Dashwood never had to hear about.
I have long thought of the blogging community and social media as being today’s pen pal equivalent. Some say that such friendships are Not Real, but I beg to differ. Social media has allowed me to stay in the lives of people who I would have lost touch with over time, in a different era, and that is a real gift. It is said that friends come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime, and I used to think in this Friendship Venn Diagram, none of the circles would be overlapping. Now, though, I think they can and often do. Perhaps I am not in a Going For Coffee relationship with my best friend from first grade, but I am on Facebook with her, and that’s nice too. In this way I am in touch with my far-away cousins, people I used to work with, and almost my entire high school graduating class; it might be “connection-lite,” but it’s still connection, and it’s still valid.
One of the books I read this week spoke very disparagingly of such connections, but I think there is a real place for them in our lives. After all, not everyone can bring you a casserole in times of hardship, but words can lift you up just the same. Sometimes I think of elephants and big horned sheep, and how when one of their herd is injured or in need, the rest of them form a circle to keep them safe. That is what social media and blogging friendships feel like to me; it seems to me that when friends are experiencing real losses and hardships, particularly in the last few years, our online community gathers and forms that strong circle until the person on the inside can get back on her feet.
I have two brothers and growing up, I never wanted for a sister; in fact, I relished the role of Only Girl, and all the special treatment that came with it. As I got older and pursued education and a career in a male-dominated area, and then had sons, I started to long for a sister. I have many wonderful girlfriends and have been blessed to be a part of many beautiful circles, and I have cultivated a few friendships that I consider Chosen Sisters. These Sisters fill up my cup and visits with them are always beneficial to me; we can be completely real and open with each other, and we never judge. Two of them live far away but we touch base nearly every day (HI HANNAH, HI ALLISON), and one of them is my motivator and cheerleader on every level who I see as often as our schedules permit (HI JANET). One Sister is someone I see a few times a year with her family, and we all used to travel together pre-Covid (HI JEN). Her family feels like my family, and as our kids start to prepare to leave us with an empty nest, I hope that we can continue to travel. Another Sister is also my neighbour, and she has been a surrogate-aunt-next-door to my kids (HI TARYN).
I’ve been thinking a lot about friendships and the role that certain women play in my life lately. In my recent Ask Me Anything, Suz (HI SUZ) asked Who is your oldest friend (how many years?) and do you have one best friend/ soul sister? I just saw my oldest close friend this weekend (HI TARA)! On the very first day of grade nine, back in 1989, I noticed a new girl in homeroom, with the thickest, curliest, most beautiful red hair you have ever seen. I bounced over to her and said “Hi! I’m Nicole! I love your hair!” and we have been close friends ever since. These days we only see each other twice annually, on our birthdays, but we are able to pick up exactly where we left off. Tara gave me a baby shower when my oldest was born, and when she introduced herself to the guests, she said Nicole and I have been through our life stages together, and those words really stayed with me. It’s really special to think of friends going through the same stages at the same time over the years. We are now in the thick of Young Adult Parenting, and Almost Empty Nest Life, and perhaps at some point in the future we will be lucky enough to be Living La Vida Mother-In-Law and perhaps even Grandma World.
This brings me to my second question of the day, from Colleen (HI COLLEEN), which is a two-parter. How do you feel about your boys dating? What kind of mother-in-law and/ or grandma do you want to be? I feel just fine about my boys dating. I think they are smart and respectful and that they will make good boyfriends and, possibly, husbands. We have had only a few girlfriends and dates around here, and I think they were really great in terms of growth and learning. Many years ago a friend of mine had said conversationally in terms of her son dating that no one is ever really good enough for your kid, and I vehemently disagree with that. I think that, right there, is the reason mothers-in-law have the kind of reputation they have. I would like to be a very Here For You mother-in-law, and one who is open-minded to different ways of living and doing things. If I am lucky enough to be a grandma, I hope to be a hands-on one who is helpful. My mother was so helpful to me when the kids were small; I want to be just as helpful to my sons and their future spouses. I hope to be a good listener, and someone who meets spouses and grandchildren exactly where they are, without judgement or thoughts of how to change them.
I recently read something that said unsolicited advice is the same as judgement and that is something that I have been rolling around in my mind this week. It’s something to keep in mind for everything, I think, from navigating friendships to changing family dynamics. The key to all relationships, for me, is to stay open and to remember that there is room for everyone. From besties to random Instagram follows, the world is richer when we open up to allow people in.
Weekly Reading
Mean Baby. I had heard this was a good memoir, and then when I picked it up, I realized I had no idea who this woman is. I haven’t seen anything she’s done, but no matter. This is an extremely compelling and terribly sad book about her lifelong demons, her toxic relationships – particularly with her mother, multiple sexual assaults, alcoholism, and, finally, a diagnosis of MS. So, trigger warning? I tore through it but it is dreadfully sad. It is advertised as being “bitingly funny,” which makes me wonder about the reviewer. I found nothing in this book to be funny.
The Hotel Nantucket. Mid-December might not be the most typical time for a beach read but hey, library holds come in when library holds come in/ the heart wants what it wants. This was a very fun read about the employees and guests at a hotel in Nantucket…a haunted hotel! A friendly ghost floats around, watching the affairs and scandals that abound. It was entertaining and satisfying, with engaging characters and back stories. I’m not typically one for ghost stories, but I found this just so charming and fun. I am going to seek out more from this author, for more mood-lifting reads.
This Wild And Precious Life. I picked up this book because I heard a review about it that was positive, and also the title is taken from one of my very favourite poet’s most famous poem. And I will say that this book does contain many very good points. But. It is not often I regret the time I spend reading a book but wow, I regret reading this. The very good points – the climate crisis, building connections with people, the beauty of hiking in nature – were, for me, completely offset by the extremely off-putting and incredibly judgmental writing style of this very privileged author. As an example, the author relates MANY anecdotes in the book in which she confronts, shames, and berates strangers for not having a reusable cup in a coffee shop or consuming anything that utilizes single-use plastics. Then she talks about her post-hike ritual of buying a bag of potato chips. Presumably, the potato chips are in a single-use bag. She flies around the world to hike but rants about horrors of car ownership, then in the next chapter mentions a road trip. In a car. While I do agree with consuming less and that we should all be doing our part to combat the climate crisis, I found myself bristling constantly while reading this, which is the opposite of what this book should be doing. If the thesis is to motivate people to climate activism, then the message should not be “no matter what you do, it will never be enough, and you are a scourge to our collective environmental well-being.” I kept wanting to stop reading but I also wanted to be open-minded; in the end I do not feel that I was enlightened in the least, but instead felt that I wasted several hours that I will never get back.
It is shaping up to be a very cold week here, this week before Christmas. As I write this, it’s minus 40 with windchill, and I am wondering how long Rex is going to want to walk for. Well, I have my heated mittens and my snowpants for just such occasions. I hope wherever you are, you are staying warm, and able to seek out moments of calm in what is typically a very busy week. xo
I couldn’t agree more with you re. social media, Nicole. I know FB is problematic, but it does let me stay in touch with elementary school besties, family friends, conference colleagues, and everyone in between… given how many continents I’ve lived on, this is such a blessing. That Wilson book sounds insufferable! Thanks for the warning. I’ve heard about Elin Hilderbrand, and will put that on my light reading list. It looks delightfully beachy!
Rex is adorable as always–are those natural socks or snow?
Yes, it’s such a blessing for someone like you who has been so many places!
Those are Rex’s natural socks!
SO CUTE!! Don’t tell my babies, but I love Rex something fierce 🙂
“Unsolicited advice is the same as judgement”- I know someone who CONSTANTLY gives unsolicited advice, and it’s so annoying. Maybe that’s why- I can see how it’s a form of judgement.
I’ve gotten SO MUCH out of this blogging community. Advice, ideas, support… i love it so much. I’m hardly ever on FB but it’s a great way to keep in touch with a few people I wouldn’t otherwise. Of course it’s not the same as living next door to someone and seeing them every day, but it’s so much better than not having these relationships at all.
Weather-wise, it got down to 59 F here last night (brr!- just kidding) and my husband said “It’s the first day of winter!” I think I can finally say I’m glad I’m down in Florida and not up north. I hope you and Rex stay warm and cozy!
It feels very judgy for someone to offer advice without being asked for it!
Rex loves this weather and we were out for an hour yesterday – and then he kept wanting to go out in the yard for more. Brr!
Hi Nicole
I so agree with you about social media. Although I only used to have a quick chat with you in the change room at the Shala.
I now look forward to reading your post every Monday morning. I smile when I have just read a book that you are reviewing.
Wishing you and your family a lovely Christmas.
Oh Etta, this made me smile so much! Thank you for saying this! I’m so happy we are still connected, even though we don’t see each other in the early mornings anymore!
You have so many good thoughts in this, but I have to jump in on the one about your sons and dating. My daughter is only 9 – we are a long, long way aways from dates – but, she is also at that point where she has “crushes” and is on the edge of all this which makes it a topic of conversation for me and her dad. I love your love for your boys and trust in who they are as they navigate this. It’s what I hope to have for my girl when the time comes – although, she’s also in the “truth can be manipulated” stage, so hoping to build that trust over time haha!
It’s never too soon to talk about it and invite open conversation! I think the most important thing is to be calm about it – at least, that’s how I feel about talking to my boys. They will tell me things and I’ll just nod and listen a lot.
Sometimes I call the people whose blogs I read my imaginary friends and it drives North crazy because “Mommy, they are real!” And you are very real, and important to me even though chances are we will never meet. I also think that at least for me, FB is really good for keeping me connected. Even if they aren’t close connections, this week I’ve enjoyed seeing pictures of Christmas decorations, Hanukah candles, and college kids coming home, from people I knew long, long ago and wouldn’t have kept up with otherwise. It’s nice to have that little tie left.
p.s. Sometimes when you mention the temperature in Calgary, I plug it into a converter so I can see how cold it is, and guess what? Minus 40 C is minus 40 F. This is a temperature I have experienced because Beth and I lived in Iowa for two years right after college. Brr.
You’re so important to me too! But who knows, maybe one day I’ll be in your area! I like North’s view – we are real!
Yes, minus 40 is the crossover point. Let me check what the temp is right now…woof, it’s the same. Brrr. Well, it’s supposed to get better by Christmas!
I enjoyed this point, and agree with all your comments and points, especially the one about judgement. Ohhh, that’s a good one. Social media does have its good points. And when you read someone’s blog for so long and follow them for a long time it is like a friendship. What a great way to look at it! I won’t be reading Sarah Wilson’s book, although I did read her other one about how she quit sugar and thought it was the absolute devil. It was pretty strict, now that I think about it. Elin Hildenbrand is a fun author! I think Rex and Carmela could also be friends, they don’t seem bothered by the cold at all!! Stay warm this week! 🙂
Our pups could certainly be friends!
I looked at that sugar book on goodreads, and it had many, many reviews that were not positive!
Thank you for answering! I want to be a MIL and grandma in exactly the same way for my (potential) six daughter-in-laws. That’s wild. I read The Hotel Nantucket and liked it as well. The author is really well known around here, since Nantucket is in my state. You should try her Winter series (four books – Winter Street, Winter Stroll, Winter Storms, and Winter Solstice) which are my favorite of hers plus more suited for your weather right now 🙂
Oh, I am going to look into those books! Thanks!
Oh wow, the unsolicited advice = judgment is spot on. I hate unsolicited advice, but am in a stage of life where I seem to be surrounded by it. People LOVE to tell you how to raise your kids or how to feel about raising your kids and so on and so forth.
I have many very good friends that I’ve met through blogging. I had 2 tables of bloggers at my wedding! And I was in the wedding of 2 women I met through blogging. I would say my bestest friend is a woman I met through blogging. She lives in Fort St John in upper BC. We haven’t seen each other since we had kids 5 years ago but we used to see each other at least once a year and are hoping to get back to annual reunions in 2023! We “talk” almost daily on whatsapp or text. Our kids are close in age and we have the same interests – running and reading. So we get along so well. I am so thankful blogging came into my life in 2008. I was kind of a fish out of water at the time. All of my friends were getting married and starting families which understandably changed their lives. I was grateful to meet so many like-minded women with the same interests as me. I am off social media indefinitely, though. I can see the benefits of it but have found it’s too much of a comparison trap for me. I know that is totally on me – no one is telling me my life should look like theirs. But social media can show such a polished version of life. That’s why I prefer blogging – you have more room to show the nuance of life!
And I definitely feel like I have sisters from another mister. I have 2 sisters but am only really close to my younger sister. My older sister and I could not be more different. I love her but we don’t have that bond that people envision when they think of the word sister. But I have lots of chosen sisters!
Wow wow wow! Two tables of bloggers and two weddings of bloggers! That is just amazing. How wonderful.
Having small kids seems to invite all sorts of unsolicited advice! People do like to tell you how to raise your kids, don’t they??? Gah! The worst.
More great questions. I love learning about the sisterhoods that you’ve formed. I have two sisters, but Coach’s sister is more of a sister than either of my sisters are. I also have some wonderful girlfriends, who I am very grateful for. I was always closer to my brothers growing up and one of my best friends from high school is my friend, Andrew. He’s in New York and we just zoomed out of the blue a few months ago with the plan to zoom again soon. As a middle child I think I sough out friendships and support systems elsewhere when I felt sort of glossed over at home. I, too, love the blogging world for the many connections and friendships formed here. It has been a gift to me.
I have no doubt that you will be a wonderful MIL and grandma. Imagine saying that no one is good enough for your child? Eek.
That book sounds dreadful. I don’t read as much as you, but when I bother to read something that is a total waste of my time it frustrates me.
This is such a busy week, and I had such big plans for things to accomplish and I feel so lousy and overwhelmed with covid that I just want to cry. I’m hoping to drag myself into the shower and then take a nap.
Merry Christmas.
Oh Ernie, I am sorry you’re so sick and exhausted. What rotten timing for Covid to hit! I hope you feel better soon.
I am sharing your thoughts on blogging community in an upcoming post because it is so lovely. I agree with you on how it is valid and real. I wish we could have a big blog meetup. Wouldn’t that be fun?
I read Mean Baby too. She was in Legally Blonde; not sure if you watched that movie.
I didn’t watch that movie, but I have heard that I should!
I wish we could have a big meetup too. Remember way back in the day they used to have blog conferences? I wish we could have one of those, but without the conference part, just with the fun part!
Yes! Maybe you should think about creating one? I’ve always wanted to visit Canada….
I think that the pen pal label fits very nicely for the blogging community! When I was in high school I had a few pen pals – I never met them IRL or stayed in touch with them but they were every bit as “real” as what we have today in blogs. Back in the day I’d get a letter in the mailbox and today I get “letters” in my Feedly. It’s exactly the same!
I feel good about my boys dating as well. It hasn’t happened yet but it’s only a matter of time. Yes I want the best for them, and I also trust them to find it for themselves.
I’m starting to have the Selma Blair problem more often than not. It used to be that I couldn’t get enough memoirs, but recently I’ve had the reaction “whoa – TMI! This stuff is none of my business!” every time that I pick one up.
Some of the memoirs I have read, I have had that exact same reaction. One I read – probably almost a year ago – talked about something happening and then she lay down on the floor and masturbated “for three hours.” What. Three hours? WHAT. I am too old to read those sorts of memoirs.
Letters in the mailbox and letters in the feed are exactly the same, I agree!
Awwww…I have a friend I met in second grade (HI TABETHA!) and we still see each other once or twice a year and it melts my heart to think about all that we have seen in each other’s lives. Her daughter is in her freshman year in college, is engaged, and is like a whole adult. My friend raised a whole human being! It’s crazy to think about friendships in that way.
It really is wild to think about it!
This one wild and precious life was a DNF for me this year, for all the same reasons you list. At one point I thought, “Who IS this woman?” and looked her up: she also has a website about quitting sugar, and her blogs are riddled with diet and medical advice when she appears to have no qualifications whatsoever (e.g., quitting sugar will cure your thyroid disease.) She also has an approach which generally rankles me: “If everyone lived the way I do, all the world’s problems would be solved!”
I remember reading an article during the pandemic about the loss of casual acquaintances and how that was impacting us negatively. There is a place for all types of relationships; it’s wonderful to have life-long best friends, but it’s also pretty fun to have that one guy in the office who you always talk to about plants. I’ll probably never meet my blogging friends in real life, but I still valuable those connections very much.
Oh, that is interesting about the casual acquaintances. I remember feeling so sad when I was in the grocery store, because no one was talking or even looking at one another.
I looked up that quitting sugar book on goodreads, and I wish I had looked at goodreads before reading This Wild and Precious Life! The reviews largely agreed with us!
I was going to read the Selma Blair memoir because it has so much buzz, but you know, I don’t really know who she is either. I think I once did-maybe she was a brief star in the 1990s? Who am I to say, I’m usually out of touch with pop culture!
As for sisters, I am lucky to have two and they are absolutely my best friends, but I see my only-child-daughter in search of her sisters from another mister and it warms my heart to see women find their sisterhood.
That book was very readable and compelling, but I wouldn’t expect laughs from it!
I think it’s so wonderful your sisters are your best friends!
Aaah! Your first Elin Hilderbrand! You have so much fun reading ahead of you! I have almost finished reading through all her back catalogue. I’m not saying it’s life-changing literature, but it’s entertaining and my very favourite comfort reading.
I love what you said about keeping up with people through social media.
That’s so great to hear – I love knowing that there are like 28 more books of hers to read. So delightful!
Oh Nicole there is always so many things in your posts that resonate with me. But being a chatty person by nature I risk writing a comment that’s longer than the post! So I’ll pick and choose. I laughed out loud at you running to the new girl in grade 9 & introducing yourself nuts so you and I’m so happy you are still friends. One of long term girlfriends who I also met in grade 9 moved to England in her 20s. We correspond regularly (letters mailed for years now email of course) but have only see each other perhaps 20 x in 40+ years. We instantly pick up where we left off and in minutes are laughing like we are 14 again! Fortunately my other friend of 60 years lives in the next cit so we see each other several times a year and never run out of things to talk about.
I’m so happy that 2 of my boys have chosen wonderful girls and they are like daughters to me. (Boy 3 is still looking) In fact one came from a terrible home and has no relationship with her mother and I like to think I’m sort of filling that void. I am careful not to ever offer unsolicited advice, but just support them boys like having more daughters! Finally I’m halfway through Hotel Nantucket and thoroughly enjoying the light read after 2 heavy books (The Godmother and She Said).
Oh, how wonderful that you are like a surrogate mother to your son’s partner!! What a wonderful thing.
This was so fun to read, Nicole! I love that you and your oldest friend met because of your hair compliment – that is so sweet and lovely. Those people who share you history across so many stages are so precious.
Now I am finding that I feel so fuzzy about my kids’ friends who I have known since preschool days! Precious friends indeed.
Lordy I hit post before checking for auto fills – I meant “it’s so you” not nuts. I think all the other typos are less confusing
Nicole, we are on the same wave length re: blogging and community. Just last night I was wondering if I should put some thoughts about it into a post. Now I don’t have to because you did! And nailed it.
Every single time I pop into someone’s blog and look at all the wonderful, supportive, *insert all the appropriate words here” comments that we leave each other, my heart is so happy.
Yes, most of us will probably never meet in real life; but that doesn’t mean that we aren’t friends. And the fact is without blogging, none of us would have ever “met” each other in the first place!
So true, Gigi! I mean, chances are I’m not going to just run into you in your state! But here we are!
“Unsolicited advice is the same as judgement” – mic drop.
Also, I read that Sarah Wilson book and I could not finish it. It grated on my nerves so horrifically for all the reasons you mention. The utter hypocrisy of the book did me in, and it also felt like it went on…forever. I made it about 100 pages in, regretted the time I had wasted on it, and then seethed about it for weeks (especially the coffee cup mentions when she is FLYING AROUND THE WORLD TO GO ON HIKES).
The Selma Blair book does not sound remotely funny (then again, I found Smoke Gets in Your Eyes brilliantly funny…and it is all about crematoriums and the death industry – but NGS agrees with me on this one. It is funny!).
It did go on forever, that book! It was so repetitive too. The coffee cup thing was mentioned so many times, and she justified all her flights by being “well, I am perfect in every other respect.” WELL.
I think I’ve mentioned before, but I think you’re a kindred soul. I, too, get a great deal of satisfaction from online friendships—such as this one! I don’t need everyone I consider a friend to be the kind of friend who, say, watches my kids last minute when I have to go to the emergency room. ALTHOUGH sometimes people become those kind of friends BECAUSE you’ve had to vulnerably lean on them unexpectedly, and they came through for you. That’s not possible with people who live distant; but if they lived closer, perhaps they would BECOME that kind of friend.
I’ve also had a number of real letters pen pals in my life, and now I consider several of my online friends the way I used to consider my pen pals. Sometimes it’s *good* to have different kinds of friends for different kinds of needs.
I so agree, Erin! Not everyone has to be a friend who organizes a meal train, but sometimes online friends are those friends! We are indeed kindred spirits.
I just requested minus Hotel Nantucket from the library, thank you; I’ve been much more re-reading than reading lately, but light and fun sounds so good. And I will keep in mind your “minus 40 with windchill” when I am tempted to complain about our upcoming coldest-Christmas-on record here in south Florida.
Hi NICOLE!!
I just love your relationship with Tara; and to think it started with you admiring her hair! You’ve always been a girls’ girl, haven’t you?
I think our relationships online are very much real and important. Who said differently? Let me at ’em!
I’m gonna quote you on this from here to eternity “the world is richer when we open up to allow people in.”
I remember Selma Blair from some early 2000’s movies and I’d read recently about her struggles with MS. Very sad.
Yes, her MS is very sad – it’s an awful disease – and it was one of those things where she could look back and see so many warning signs.
I resisted social media for such a long time, and then had a really hard time with it when I first joined FB and IG. I even took a long break from it, which gave me a whole different perspective. Now I feel like you do! On-line friends are like pen pals, and they have a place in my life!
Yes! It can be fun if used in that way!
This post filled me with such warm feelings and happiness. Some of my best friends are people I’ve met through blogging! Sometimes I think blog friends know me BETTER than IRL friends because they get to hear my innermost thoughts more than IRL friends. Haha. Developing strong friendships has become so important to me as a single lady in my mid-thirties because I don’t have that family unit that so many other friends in this stage of life have (family unit meaning a partner and kids). It can leave me feeling unmoored sometimes, but then I just have to remember the friends I have who will always be there for me!
That last book sounds awful. I hate hypocrisy like that!
-40 degrees! I cannot. The high on Christmas day is 46F and I am excited about a super cold Christmas here. Or, in Calgary terms, “wow, the weather really warmed up for Christmas!”
Yes, I think it’s so important to cultivate strong friendships as we get older – even when we do have a family unit, I think that female friendships are so important!
This is so beautiful and I agree with all of it, I think (I mean I’m sure I do, my memory is just so bad these days that I can’t entirely rule out the possibility that I’ve forgotten one tiny thing I disagreed with slightly while scrolling down to the comment box.) Actually I guess I think unsolicited advice can be given kindly, and it only feels like judgment if it’s not given in that spirit – a couple of times people have given me advice I wouldn’t have known to ask for that has been helpful.
I absolutely cherish my online friendships and connections, especially when I’m too depressed to engage in real-life ones. Absolutely agree about the mother-in-law thing too – my mother-in-law was an absolute gift, and if I’m ever in that position I will strive to emulate her.
I read one Elin Hilderbrand book, and half the time I was feeling slightly snooty about the “women’s lit”ness of it, and the other half I was bowled over by startling moments of insight. I also didn’t realize that the supernatural element was more than a one-off for her, which is interesting. I’ve always liked Selma Blair, and I’m interested in the book.
Oh, that is a good point – sometimes it is the spirit of it that counts, when it comes to giving advice.
Your mother-in-law was such a wonderful woman!
I used to have a lot of pen pals growing up (I’ve been friends with one of them – from Australia – for 30 years and we’ve met a couple of times). I wouldn’t know what to do without my blog friends. My local friendships are sparse and I get so much out of this blogging community. You guys are my people! <3
That’s so wonderful, San!
Nicole, I think you will be among the best MILs out there. Your approach is (IMO, which means nothing, of course) perfect. Be open, realize they did not grow up in your family, and welcome them with open arms. (OK, maybe not if they’re hostile, toxic creatures but the chances of that, given that you raised your children, are slim to none…)
And also… thank you for welcoming me into your circle of bloggers. Your posts bring light to my days. <3
Thanks so much, Anne! This is so sweet. xo