B-I-N-G-O!

Happy 9-9-09!

I am honored to be the first “winner” of Mel’s latest invention, to help bring together our Adoption, Loss and Infertility (ALI) community to increase the support/comments we receive on our blogs and give to others on theirs, Blogger Bingo.

I really like how Mel shared the links to, as well as the blurbs that I wrote about, each of the posts that I found/used for the “winning” categories in her post (about the conclusion of the first round of Blogger Bingo). So I thought it might be fun to share them again here on my blog, along with the rest of those I used for my Bingo card during the game.

Though as one of the commenters said so well on Mel’s Blogger Bingo Winner post, “Congrats to the winners! (which, really, is all of us).” So true, as the experience of playing this creative game, exploring new blogs and/or returning to old ones in effort to find posts that fit the categories Mel’s drew each day was awesome! Good luck to those playing in the next round and be sure to check out “the catch” that Mel explains in her first round wrap up post (follow the link above), that may give you a leg up on the competition!

So here is my Blogger Bingo “Round Up” including the five posts, highlighted in orange (since that is the Bingo card color I chose) that allowed me to be able to proclaim “B-I-N-G-O!” yesterday morning:

Day 1 – Monday, August 24
Funny (a post that mentions a book, movie or TV show before August 14): This post mentions two TV shows that Nicole had watched on the Discovery channel that led to some related dreams about their possible future adoption matches.

Day 2 – Tuesday, August 25
All’s Quiet on the Uterine Front (a post that made me laugh anytime in 2008): This post talks about Kym’s comical experience with her 4th (yes, 4th) sonohystogram with the MD she so lovingly refers to as “Dr. Dead Fish.”

Day 3 – Wednesday, August 26
Saturday Quotes (a post under 10 lines, not 10 words or sentences–10 lines on the screen, from any time): In this post Mrs. Spit shares a thought provoking quote which stands alone and did make me ponder its meaning for awhile.

Day 4 – Thursday, August 27
Trying to Find My Way through the Mire (a post that mentions an animal): In this post Natalie shares about a special stuffed animal that she bought for her new baby niece “from Devin” and the awesome message she included with it. I read this post at the time she wrote it and it inspired me to do something similar for my new niece when she was born last August. She and Molly would have been only about six weeks apart if she had been born healthy/on time at the end of June 2008.

Day 5 – Friday, August 28
Poking the Bear (a post that contains an “update”–meaning, they added more text after writing the original post because they had more ideas–written before July 1, 2009): Mel’s post about “poking the bear.” I really like the distinctions made here between anger and drama (as it relates to how we fight), as well as the difference between being a “leader” and a “guider” (especially when it comes to parenting).

Day 6 – Monday, August 31
No Apologies (a post that I wish I had written that was posted before 2009): In this post Danielle talks about how she came to be able to reclaim her life and her self confidence, after a period of losing herself and trying to be all things to all people, but not really taking good care of herself. I could really relate to being a people pleaser and having difficulty saying no to others and not feeling that I was responsible for so many things and people that I am not. I am inspired by her “no apologies” approach to reclaiming her life and confidence, even it if it wasn’t easy for her or those in her life who had come to expect to be able to walk all over her. I am grateful to have rediscovered Danielle’s blog through ICLW last week and look forward to following her journey and supporting her through commenting in the future.

Day 7 -Tuesday, September 1
First Dad (a post that is longer than 4 paragraphs written in June 2009): In this post the writer shares about her son’s “first dad” (i.e. the birth father) and her take on his perspective/experience of their son’s birth and giving him up for adoption. I found the post to be very moving (to the point of tears) and eye opening, as I mostly had only considered the perspective of a birth mother giving up a child for adoption and not so much the birth father’s take on it.

Day 8 – Wednesday, September 2
Omen (a post that talks about the future, or wishes for the future, from any time): In this post Cassandra talking about an “omen” she received while being on bed rest at 29 weeks at the hospital while hoping that that her twins can hold out/stay in as long as possible. She had a bag of “baked” potato chips delivered with a meal yesterday and is wishing that her babies will be able to not be born before the “guaranteed” fresh by date on the package (which would get them to 36 weeks gestation). That date also holds some personal significance for her/her family. Lastly, she comments at the end about living one day at a time and even one hour at a time right now, which is something I can really relate too and helps me during difficult and uncertain times in my life.

Day 9 -Thursday, September 3
Actually (a post that is about or includes anger written before 2008): In this post Julia writes about reaching the “anger stage” of grief after the stillbirth of her son, her second child. Being that this post was written well over two years ago, as much as I could relate to her words, having also lost my second child, Molly, I felt like I needed to familiarize myself more with Julia’s blog (which seemed familiar, but I wasn’t sure if and/or how long ago I might have been there before). So I spent some time today reading various posts of her’s to try to get a sense of our her and journey since her son’s birth/death. I found it interesting that she has an older daughter close in age to our son and that after he son’s birth/death she and her husband were able to conceive again, their second son/third child and that he recently celebrated his first birthday. Being that at the time I found this post I am/was two weeks out from our scheduled c-section for our third child/second daughter, I found Julia’s journey inspiring, but also helpful in glimpsing the future of a mother who has two living children born on either side of the child she lost.

Day 10 -Friday, September 4
This Time of Year (A post that mentions a meal written between October and December 2008): In this post Cara shares about an interaction she had with her SIL’s mother at the Thanksgiving (dinner) table. The woman asked how old Cara’s children are now and thought she wanted so much to comment on the ages of her two living children a long with her angel Emma Grace in Heaven, she decided (in the moment) to only talk about her two living daughters. This is something that I think so many of us who have lost babies/children struggle with in conversations with those that we don’t know very well and/or aren’t very close with, how do we (if we do) talk openly about our children that have gone before us, to honor their lives and memories without making others too uncomfortable.

Day 11 – Monday, September 7
Losing You (a post that should be read by all written in June or July 2009): In this post is a beautiful poem about “Once a Mother” losing her daughter Peyton to infant Leukemia. As another comment said, I too (having lost a baby girl) feel like I could have written this post and can so relate. I believe that it “should be read by all” as I think it could be therapeutic for those who have experienced the loss of a child and those who haven’t to try to understand, just a bit more, what it is like for those of us who have.

Only 8 more days until we get to meet our baby girl, if she doesn’t arrive early (which I doubt will happen, but you never know)… Still taking this journey one day at a time and repeating my mantra “September 17 is going to be a happy day!”

UPDATED (Friday, September 11, 2009): Thank you everyone for your congratulatory comments (and of course, thank you again Mel)!!! I got the gift card in the mail today and put it towards the complete first season of Thirtysomething DVD (my all time favorite TV series)! I have waited so long for them to finally release the series on DVD and I am so excited! I can’t wait to receive it and start watching it as a “thirtysomething!”