Kum ba ya, everybody, kum ba ya. What a great week on the grid. Thanks to all of the bloggers, readers, commenters and voters who were a part of it. 

Virgins!

We welcomed 12 of you into our humble little community. Some of you had been lurkers who decided we seemed harmless enough, and others of you stumbled over us by chance and joined right in. Please come back next week. We really had a good time with you.

Editor’s choice by Erica

How could I not select the post by a fellow hypochondriac? I was near-death at least six times this week and that was before I’d read yeah write virgin Susannah’s post Because It’s Probably Gangrene. Like Susannah, I had a stroke, several forms of cancer and something super scary yet completely undiagnosed all before breakfast on Tuesday. Thanks, Susannah, for my brand new skin rash that’s probably a latent form of leprosy, and congrats on the win.

Lurker’s favorite by Flood

Flood chose Tickle My Brain by Mike at Youngman Brown and writes:

[blockquote]Good Youngman Brown tickled my brain this week. He writes of the little bits of mysterious periphery in life that bring a sense of delight or comfort. For his sister, it’s Dewey the car’s turn indicator. I happen to like the sound of dancing keys suspended in an ignition during a drive. And men’s forearms. Also any of Batman’s gadgets. But that’s me.

I was totally charmed by Mike’s brain tickles, and the post ended on a sweet note that made me wish for a brother.[/blockquote]

Congrats, Mike, on the win.

Lurker’s favorite by Emma

Emma chose Delilah’s at Semi-Domesticated Mama Nature versus Nurture post and writes:

[blockquote]I can totally relate to this one. Being an Extra-Momma or Emma to two precious boys who did not come from my womb, I get it. It just clicked with me. Hearing people say that the little guys that I did not give birth to both look, act, and talk like me, and are SO much like me only makes me smile. They have decided to root for my favorite team, have changed their favorite food preferences because of the things I cook at home, and have a growing love for auctions because of me makes me proud. Time and time again I have said, and will until the day I die, “I didn’t give birth to them, but they’re my kids.” They do take after both their daddy and me. And I’m damn proud of it.

Delilah, you may not have given him that red beautiful hair, the freckles on his sweet face, or those hazel eyes, but you’ve given him life and the chance to live it and that’s all that matters. He has taken after the both of you and you’ve got lots to be proud of. There’s no doubt in my mind that he does take after both of you and he’ll thank you for that one day.[/blockquote]

Congrats, Delilah, on the win.

Lurker’s favorite by former on-the-gridder and current writer and tweeter extraordinawesomaire Jennifer Weinberg of Kvetch Mom

(I won’t write that every week; that’s my version of fanfare—since I’m not into flashing GIFs or anything—while revealing who’s been silently choosing her favorites all week . Please help me welcome Jennifer as our newest lurking judge, everybody. She’s awesome just like Flood, Emma, Q and you other über grid-readers.)

Jennifer chose Anna at The Mommy Padawan, and writes of Anna’s post I Have My Reasons:

[blockquote]Her story and message stuck with me for days. The raw honesty and excellent writing made it a stand-out. I found one passage particularly moving:

“A young child had been beaten in a public restroom of an office building and no one said or did anything.”

I suspect everyone can think of an incident they have witnessed between adult and child (or even between two adults) that made them stop and wonder. What do we do with that small internal voice: be courageous and speak up or turn a blind eye? The fact that people did not respond to a defenseless child just kills me. I am so glad that Anna had the courage to come forward with her story and also challenge us to “take a stronger stand against child abuse to eradicate it and create a new standard of living where no one has to live in fear.”[/blockquote]

Congrats, Anna, on the win and thanks for sharing this post with us for Child Abuse Awareness Month.

Popular vote winner

Tara at Pohlkotte Press won the popular vote with a touching post in remembrance of her grandfather. I hope she won’t mind my reprinting here the final few lines:

He belongs to the fireflies dancing, blurring the lines of heaven and earth.
He belongs in the soft twitch of the doe’s ear, coming silently out of his woods. 
Moments spent heads lifted together, eyes reflecting the moon through the lace of trees. 

He belongs with the lark meadows.
To the smell of dirt made ripe with morning dew.
To fish made ripples across glass-topped lake water.

He belongs to endless summer.

Congrats, Tara, on the win.

Comment karma

There were many many uplifting and supportive comments on Julia’s at Elated Expressions post on her traumatic birth experience, and I’d like to thank the yeah write readers and bloggers for being the majority of that support. Among several, one that stood out to me was written by Stephanie of People Doing Things with Their Lives:

[blockquote]I’ve never had a baby, so I can’t speak to that feeling of failure. I can speak to the complexity of mother daughter relationships. Maybe your mom really doesn’t understand. Isn’t that ok, though? Your experience isn’t her experience. She might have chosen her words a little more carefully…I’m just thinking we need to accept that not everyone will understand our grief. I don’t understand, but I do empathize with your pain, and I’m sure your mom does too, even if her words don’t fit the message.[/blockquote]

Thanks, Stephanie, for your words.

Win-win

The thumbnails are now sorted in the grid from most yellow star votes to the least. In the case of a tie, like if four blogs all got seven votes each, the thumbnails are additionally sorted by page views. Do not be discouraged if your blog has landed near the bottom of the grid; it is always a tight race. The fun lies in getting better exposure for your blog and in the spirit of competition as incentive to improve your writing and blogging skills. It’s a win-win for everybody involved.

Thanks again, everybody, for linking up, for reading, for voting. And for making yeah write the most welcoming spot on the Interwebs for writers who blog and bloggers who write.

Yeah write #53 opens Tuesday.