A Family Affair

My first post was a submission for the contest launched by Templeton Press, the publisher of a collection of essays edited by Adam Bellow, currently vice president/executive editor at HarperCollins. It's titled New Threats to Freedom. I genuinely believe in what I wrote and am not bummed out at all that I was not picked. Thank you to Templeton Press for motivating me to finally start this blog.

Now it's time to actually blog. What to blog about? Obviously, my themes are freedom, books, and flowers, as per title. Myriad of things fall under these topics, so my entries will vary greatly, I suspect.

I am new to the blogging business, but I've been following a blog for almost two years now that I really like and whose writer I hugely admire. It's called familyaffairsandothermatters and it has its own website. The blogger, Lulu, has risen to prominence as a mommy blogger in the UK and her blog is not only entertaining and funny, but hugely informative and sets a remarkable example when it comes to charitable campaigns. It also makes me cry at times, like the last two entries, for example. One is about the mother-daughter bond and the very last one is about Lulu's father gently fading surrounded by his best friends: his wife of over forty years and his three children.  In moments of sadness, the little community of regular commenters serves as a support network not only to Lulu, but to the commenters themselves. 

Lulu is related to my husband and has taken to referring to me (she posted a few things that I wrote on the blog) as her lovely cousin from Canada. I can now reciprocate and call her my lovely cousin from the UK.

Thank you, Lulu. My family and I love you and we love your father. His valor and grace are humbling. I am proud to be able to call him family.