A few weeks ago, Lisen Stromberg honored me with a blog award, the Liebster. Lisen writes the blog An Angel of PrismWork, and I’m grateful to her for her moving prose. When you have a chance, please read this powerful piece about her son.

So, to accept the Liebster Award, I have to do three things: First, I have to answer the 5 questions posed by Lisen. Then, I have to nominate 5 blogs I really like for the award, and those 5 blogs should have under 200 followers. (I’m not sure I know how many followers each of my nominees has, so I’m disregarding that piece.) Finally, I have to pose 5 questions for my nominees to answer.

Here are my answers to the five questions Lisen posed:

1.  That perfect place. Describe it in all its glory and you in it.

My mom’s cabin in Northern Minnesota. I grew up there in the summers, and when the sun is glinting off the lake, it’s one of my favorites places in the world. But it’s also a fabulous retreat in the winter. We were up there last weekend with friends, and there is nothing like clipping on my cross country skis and heading off into the woods. The trees hung heavy with snow as we glided among dark pines and naked aspen. It’s so quiet that you can hear the snow fall, the air filled with an electric fizz of colliding snowflakes.

2.   Share, if you will, that one regret because we all have at least one if we are honest with ourselves.

There are a few things I regret, especially situations when my initial inaction created stress and financial burden later on. But even in those cases, I learned so much through the struggle that I’m not sure I can call them true regrets.

3.     Share a poem that inspires you and tell us why.

I just received a stunning poem in the mail from a friend whose son died last year.  It’s “Kindness” by Naomi Shihab Nye, and each time I read it I get chills.  You can read it here at the Writer’s Almanac. It’s such a beautiful poem, a reminder to not take anything for granted, to open myself again and again to compassion, to embrace empathy.

4.     What one thing are you especially proud that you did last year?

Published my first book! (And sold my second!) I guess that’s two, but what the heck.

5.     We all have hero, who is yours?

I know this sounds cheesy, but my husband, D, is my hero. He is the most resilient person I know, continually striving to be the best he can be without ever becoming arrogant or superior.  I could go on and on, but I’ll leave it at that so I don’t embarrass him.

The five blogs I chose for the next round of Liebster Awards are:

• Mama Sweat by Kara Douglass Thom – Kara writes about writing, fitness, and motherhood.
• Only You by Cecilia writes about parenthood, writing, and finding one’s voice.
• Remains of the Day by Andrea Lani, who writes about writing, arts, and family. She can craft anything!
• Angie Mizzell, who writes about freeing yourself and finding the path that feels true to you.
• Bumbles and Light by Rebecca, who is a photographer and writer documenting her expat life as a mother and artist in Chicago.

And here are my five questions for them:

1)    What is one thing you’d like to accomplish (professionally or personally) in the next year?

2)    Who is the one person who has had an important influence on you? Describe.

3)    What essay or poem or short story do you return to again and again? Why?

4)    In what ways has parenthood shifted your perspective on some aspect (you chose) of your life?

5)    Describe your ideal day.

Check them out!