Welcome Back, Indeed!

And what a welcome it was!  Not only was I pleasantly surprised to find that people actually missed reading my blog, but today I received the "One Lovely Blog Award" from my friend C, who is a fellow blogger.  While I am not going to play along with the rules of the award and perpetuate the viral nature of it, I will admit that I am thrilled to have received it.  Obviously, it's not the award that I am so thrilled about.  It's the fact that a) I was thought of in this context, b) I had two marvellous compliments bestowed upon me and c) this was all publicly broadcast on her blog.

As I'm sure I've mentioned in previous posts, my self esteem is not particularly high at this point in my life.  Even when I was much more confident and sure of myself, I still loved a good compliment, but now they are even more meaningful to me and I treasure them so much more.  Perhaps because I need the validation from outside sources that I do have some good qualities; that there is more to me than most people realize; that despite not being "accomplished" in so many other ways, there are at least a few people out there who may think that I do have some redeeming qualities about me.

So, even though I'm not playing along, I am touched and honoured to have received the Award.  It has brightened my day and given my poor soul a wee push in the right direction.  Thank you.