U.T.E.R.U.S. update: things are trucking along. Auctions have started and more are being added. We’ll have the first financial update in about 9 days. I am updating this post with links as new items come in (important: if you said what you would donate in the comments section but haven’t filled out the form, it will not be added to the auction. In order to have Helen add your item to the auction, you need to fill out the form and send it to Melissa and Jen). Once Calliope is set and all has calmed, we have set up a listserv for those who wish to join, brainstorm, help out to keep U.T.E.R.U.S. going indefinitely and we’ll post information on how to join. I’m also holding on to all of the cool ideas that have come in until that point. Any questions, let us know. I’ll keep doing small updates here and on Lost & Found. And thank you so much for helping with this. It’s really amazing to see everyone come together.

This post is cross-posted (mostly) with BlogHer:

It’s incredible how much my life mirrors J Lo’s. Every magazine I open, every celebrity blog out there is desperate to know if I used fertility treatments to conceive my twins. Some people say I brought it on myself by always playing coy and doing my whole “look at me! Don’t look at me!” thing. Maybe I did, but now that I’m holding these two little 3 1/2 year old nuggets of love, I am ready to invite you into my townhouse and take a small peek into the chaotic and wonderful life of just your-average-celebrity mum.

If you’ll step over here, you can watch me demurely cross my ankles while I gaily feed the ChickieNob soy bacon and carrot sticks. Over in our living room (which is also our dining room, playroom, and home office), you can plant yourself on the marked-down sofa and watch me nuzzle the Wolvog while he squirms out of my unmanicured hands. Take a peek into how we squeezed two beds in a single room due to an absolute lack of space. And ask me any question. Any question you like.

BlogHer: You look incredible. It’s been…what? 3 1/2 years? And you’ve almost lost the baby weight.

Melissa: I know, I’m really blessed with wonderful genes.

BlogHer: And potty training? Which one of you is actually conducting the potty training?

Melissa: Josh is such an amazing father–a natural. It is incredibly how he has figured out how to help our children learn how to urinate on the toilet. I, of course, am too busy still training for my Iron Man this upcoming fall.

BlogHer: Let’s just get this out in the open. Can you set the record straight about how challenging it was to conceive?

Melissa: Do you see a dime buried in that marked-down sofa? Of course not, since we’ve already scrounged for it ourselves. I think it’s pretty obvious that we did fertility treatments due to our lack of money.

Thus ends the interview portion of this post.

It is obvious looking at the sheer elegance of J Lo’s house that her vagina could not have possibly seen the hollowed end of a catheter because she obviously is not paying off thousands in medical bills.

All of this is said tongue-in-cheek; I don’t truly care if J Lo has done treatments or not or if she admits to them or only writes about them in her super secret diary. Truthfully, just because she is a celebrity doesn’t mean that it’s my business and regardless of social status, it’s never fun to be on the receiving end of the twin guessing game. In fact, it’s ten kinds of annoying to get the thinly-veiled questions and comments when you have conceived with fertility treatments so I would think that it would be equally annoying to receive them when you haven’t conceived with treatments.

I’m fairly certain that with few exceptions, no one wanted Jennifer Lopez to need IVF (um…I’m right…right?). And if you actually read her answer, she doesn’t deny fertility drugs–just in vitro. Twins may run in Marc’s family, though twinning is never determined by the male and J Lo may have enough multiples in her family for a twin convention, though I’m fairly certain without any close relatives having twins that it’s unlikely to have come from her side as well. Twinning, of course, is more common with women over 35.

Bloggers, though, have not taken offense with the fact that we can’t claim J Lo as one of our own and have her step up to be the next Resolve spokesperson. It’s the way she put down other paths to parenthood including her own stepmotherhood when she said, “I can’t even think of anything that can match the actual miracle of giving birth and having your own child. It’s beyond anything you could ever imagine.” And it is beyond what millions of people who adopt apparently get to imagine and frankly, we’re all a little tired of celebrities ignoring the existing children they parent in order to wax philosophical about their newborns. Last I checked, parents who do not gestate their children still find them to be miracles so perhaps it has nothing to do with uteruses?

It’s the way that she left the millions of men and women experiencing unexplained infertility as not wanting it badly enough when she said, “I knew there was nothing wrong with me. I knew that I could. Deep down, I really wanted it badly.”

There have been other responses, but I think it was Akeeyu’s post at herveryown that hit the nail on the head as she relayed a conversation she had with an elderly acquaintance:

I told her that I did indeed see The Jo Lo.
“You know what I think?”
I wondered if she thought what everybody else in the known universe was thinking, but said nothing.
“I think those babies were gifts from God.”
“Oh?” I said politely, fervently hoping for Jennifer Lopez’s sake that they were not gifts from God. The gods, after all, have a long history of giving pretty questionable gifts.
“She waited so long, you know. I think those babies were her reward because of everything she had to go through.”

And that is precisely the problem with the interview. Because there is the rewarded and the unrewarded. And reality (two round-the-clock baby nurses) and fantasy (we’re doing it all by ourselves and just paying these baby nurses thousands of dollars to look pretty–wait, they can do that since they didn’t pay for treatments).

The blame, of course, falls squarely on the shoulders of magazines that make us believe that we should be interested in the uteruses of celebrities. Because once you remove the People magazine from the house, she doesn’t even cross my mind. And I get to live my day happily-ever-after in our townhouse, ducking my own twin questions left and right.

I have a policy never to post something on my blog that I wouldn’t mind the person reading if they found it.
The chances of J Lo finding this post, of course, are slim to none, but I keep that in mind regardless. But I would say this to her face if we ever bumped into each other at a twin convention (though perhaps I wouldn’t admit to the sofa being a marked-down). Hence I hit publish.

What you have here, friends, is a pretty fine pot of stone soup. Each item on its own was simply sitting in someone’s house. But we set the stone in the pot and people brought out each item to add and it looks like we’re really going to do this. We’re going to get someone the money they need and we’re going to be able to do this again and again. Maybe not every week and unfortunately not for every person, but…by fuck…I think we’ve got something really good brewing here.

Helen is posting the first round of sales this Thursday. Not sure when the auctions will be set to end, but we’ll give an update as soon as we can. We’re going to keep this going until we hit the $3000 Cali needs.

After that, we’re going to take a week to breathe (remember, Jen, Helen, and I started planning this last night, only 24 hours ago) and then start a listserv so we can hash out how this will work in the future. How often, how people will be chosen, how we can streamline this even more. Like a trusty organ located a few inches above your pubic bone, U.T.E.R.U.S. is here to stay.

When I put that message in Lost and Found yesterday, I meant it. We are smart, resilient, sensitive people. We have to accept that our bodies have limitations. But the financial side of infertility is just bullshit. We really don’t have to accept those limitations. We can take matters into our own hands.

Why start with Calliope? Well, why not? She has been working so hard to get to this FET cycle and reaching it on her own would mean changing the essence of Calliope. Yes, she could place her grandmother in a nursing home and blow off the people who need her. She would have the IVF money, but then she wouldn’t be Calliope. Because Calliope’s enormous heart led her to give up her job in 2003 in order to become her grandmother’s caregiver.

Compounding her situation and why she needs us is that she is doing this on her own. Yes, emotionally she has family and friends who have her back. But she doesn’t have a partner’s paycheck to supplement her own lack of income. And she has frozen embryos, just sitting there, waiting for her to come back for transfer. And frankly, she has taken care of so many–from her mother and grandmother to others in the community–it is time to stroke her head and say with our actions, we’ll take care of this.

And once we have succeeded, doing it again. And again. And using our smart, resilient, sensitive minds to do something so simple, that costs us little, that can change someone else’s world. As we planned this, we decided that our goal was to this four times a year and hopefully, it will become so streamlined that we won’t need a month or two to get it ready.

Someone made an argument a while back that we should fundraise for the major organizations and that money is better spent than fundraising to give a person a chance. They may be right in one sense, and we should keep fundraising for Resolve but I disagree. I think changing a single person’s life can have larger, rippling effects that cross the world. That create change. So, if you don’t agree that it’s a good idea to help one stirrup queen at a time, you don’t have to participate. If you do agree and want to help Calliope, join in U.T.E.R.U.S. (Union To Expedite Relief Until Self-Fulfillment).

Here’s the idea that a few of us brainstormed behind the scenes and we’re still trying to figure out how this will work (sorry, Calliope, you’re our guinea pig):

• We are going to hold a series of mass auctions via eBay. The first will take place this upcoming Thursday. Our eBay ID is uterusbrigade.
• This allows us to utilize an online auction site that is already in place with little taken off the front/back end for costs.
• It also opens up the bidding to the larger world rather than having the weight of the fundraising coming internally from our community with sales.
• This is what needs to happen on your end:

1. Decide what you could donate to the sale.
2. Take a photograph (if possible).
3. Fill out this form by cutting-and-pasting it into an email.
4. Email it to Jen at jenniferelaine11@yahoo.com and Mel at thetowncriers@gmail.com simultaneously (as in, put both our names in the address line). Just a heads up, we are keeping a spreadsheet the three of us will see so any of us can email you during the process to ask you a question or give you an update.

• Helen is going to list your item and sell it for you. We will have all of the sales under one account to make it easier to transfer the end sum in one transaction.
• All money earned will go to the designated person (in this case, Calliope), though you will use the shipping fees you requested to ship the item. The cost to you is simply the donated item.
• We will talk the hell out of this to get word out (grab the code for the icon over here).
• There will be list of all the auctions in one space so people can easily access them.
• We will give you constant updates so you know how much we’ve raised. The goal is to have this completely finished within a month or so.
• The goal for this particular convening of U.T.E.R.U.S. is $3000.

From what I understand about eBay, you can literally sell anything, including personal art work, services, and a tangerine peel. So, dip into your world and let me know what you could place on eBay in order to benefit Calliope. Those who don’t wish to actually donate an item but would like to donate directly to Calliope, you can do so here.

Me: I’m starting off with designing an ad for a blog and running it in the top corner of my blog as well as on the blogroll post for the entire month of May (with the image obviously linked back to the winning blog). This feels completely immodest, but I do have a large number of readers and it felt like a simple place to start. So…um… I will be adding to my list as we do our Pesach cleaning and remember what we own buried under all the stacks of paper and books in our house.

Jen: a set of pearls (matching necklace and bracelet).

Helen: a vintage 1920’s necklace.

Alison: a copy of The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren.

BigBellyMeli: cherry red size 6 bridesmaid’s dress at home in perfect condition only worn once.

Angi: family organ (no…not that kind…). The musical variety.

JuliaS: a Motorola W370 Tracfone.

Arian: a really really gorgeous, hand-made baby blanket. It looks so damn soft I want to wrap my head in it and go to sleep.

Chicory: 12 piece magnetic spice tin set.

Io: An official program from the 80th Academy Awards “Oscars.” This is the program given to people who attended the Academy Awards on February 24, 2008. AND two dramatic, wooden wall sconces.

Anonymous Offering: Very rare collectible jacket from Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. Emb
roidered with a message from Arnold inside. Never worn.

Amy: Pearl and crystal drop jewelry based on the original design by the House of Robin from French 19th century design (necklace and earring set) AND costume jewelry from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the original packaging.

Gypsygirl: hand-embroidered bookmark.

Jen: chocolate chip cookies (though we need to figure out the whole food thing) AND a size six Liz Claiborne little black dress AND Old Navy pink s/s shirt with bows at sleeves.

Care: 6 DVD+R – recordable discs and SanDisk Sansa c250 MP3 Player.

Liza: First Edition paperback copy of Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2003.

JP: Complete First Season of “The New Adventures of Old Christine”- DVDs viewed once and are in mint condition, box/case also in mint condition.

Duck: Bluebeard by Kurt Vonnegut, Hard Cover, 1987 First Edition, excellent condition.

Luna: Once-worn classic puma sneakers, perfect condition size 7s.

S.E.: Lot of 14 popular fiction paperback novels.

Shelby: Few skeins of sock yarn from Blue Moon Fiber Arts.

Freyja: Pedestal sink and a *brand new* ventless (I think) gas fireplace.

TNC: A two-hour outdoor photo session at the location of your choosing in the Middle Tennessee area.

Fostering Pride: Morton’s Chili Blend.

Tracy: Authentic “Return to Tiffanys” necklace and bracelet.

Family of Two: Diaper Cake.

Anonymous: A copy of When We Get There.

Soapchick: 4 different sugar scrubs (I know you use them on your body, but they sound so good, I want to eat them too).

Dotty: Flecked, blue-glass beaded necklace.

Arabella Cucumber: An original arabella cucumber cloth doll.

Deb: Crabtree and Evelyn Summerhill items.

Queenie: A copy of the book ‘The Godmother’ by Carrie Adams.

Kelly: Copies of her book, Tiny Toes.

Anonymous: Irish Claddagh ring w/diamond chip in heart AND Hearts and “Kisses” ring AND Lot of 4 Marion Zimmer Bradley books.

MsPrufrock: Baby Einstein DVD entitled “World Animals” AND DVD, “Lindsey Jackson’s Pilates in Pregnancy.”

Jenny: Elegant handmade ceramic brooch of girls’ face AND Ceramic Lenox floral clock.

Slimbo: Dune brand new ladies flat black leather shoes in box size 6 1/2 with strap detail.

Anna: Black Leather Pumps, size 9 AND White Patent Leather Peep-toe Pumps AND Box Set of Books – “Revolutionary Thought From Marx To Mao.”

Jess: A knife set AND a lot of really gorgeous jewelry. I am seriously drooling over one of the earring sets and I don’t even have my ears pierced. It would be worth doing it for them.

Jennifer: Tiffany & Co. Somerset Mesh size 6.5 ring.

You: add what you’ll be listing on eBay in the comments section and I will move it into the post. Then send the email to Jen and myself so we can get this ball rolling.

There is also a growing list of people who are donating directly to Calliope’s fund and they need to be thanked and honoured too:

1. Fellow infertile in CA
2. Sabrina
3. Auntie Venustat2
4. Erin
5. Anonymous reader from Germany
6. Rella
7. Anonymous Infertile
8. Michelle
9. Timaree
10. Carrie
11. Helene
12. Tracy
13. Jen & Cait
14. Molly
15. Kathleen
16. Kwynne
17. Sarah
18. JJ
19. Baby Step
20. Malloryn
21. B
22. Anonymous from NC
23. Melissa
24. Maureen

For photos and links to the auctions (once they are running), click here and access our eBay page here.

This is the main reason:

It makes you second-guess everything. And not just for 24 hours. It’s sort of like the commercialization of all holidays by this point–you start second-guessing anything around April 1st. By March 15th, I start adding a caveat after every “yes”–“sure, I’ll do that unless you are fucking with me and this is some sort of April Fools Day thing.” April Fools Day makes one sound extremely paranoid.

Josh and I made a pact that we would never trick each other. That didn’t stop us from plotting some real knee-slappers last night to mess with the twins. “I could put saran wrap across the potty,” I said gleefully. “Then, when the Wolvog pees, it will get all over the floor. And I can clean it up! Or, I’ll put a fake spider in the ChickieNob’s Cherrios and after she dumps them on the floor in horror, I’ll clean it up!”

You can see the inherent problem in all tricks played on them. Well done, twins, limboing unscathed under the April Fools stick.

As much as I hate April Fools Day, I do like a good trick. I simply don’t like this day because it makes you live like you’re caught in the build-up music on a horror film for 24 straight hours. One of my favourites came from back when I was teaching. A parent (the one who created the public living, in fact!) gave me a trick camera that squirted water. During my off-period, I went into a class that was taking an exam and explained that the admissions office had asked me to take photos of them for the new catalog. They should keep working on this test and I would move around the room trying not to disturb them. I still remember the look on one boy’s face as the water rained down on him. Though, the joke was on me. The tests became soaked and no one could write on them.

Um…perhaps that wasn’t the type of story you wanted to hear about a private school that charges you over $10,000/year for tuition.

I earned a bad reputation at that school. There was once a 5th grade class that was standing in our hallway and I came out to greet them and welcome them to the middle school. One girl looked back at her friends and said, “we know exactly who you are.” With a smile frozen on my face, wondering if this child had a parent on the board and knew something I didn’t know about the stability of my job, she continued: “you are the teacher who teases too much.”

I didn’t want to be the teacher who teases too much. But the siren song of changing my door’s name plate daily was too loud to resist.

Last night, I had an April Fools-like dream. I dreamed that we made a lateral move to the first townhouse we ever bid on. In real life, we thankfully lost the bid because on second thought, we didn’t love the neighbourhood. But in my dream, we had moved into this house except there was tremendous work that needed to be done. There was a hole in the ground with fetid water in lieu of a toilet. There were mouse nests in corners. The place was a wreck and the ChickieNob and Wolvog were dancing around in the living room while I paced about, trying to figure out why Josh would move us to a neighbourhood where we didn’t like the schools and we were now stuck with the same amount of space but with more work to do. I did pause in my dream to snap a picture of two copies of Huck Finn (do I even have one in real life?) on the bookshelf because I had to do Lori’s book meme.

And then I woke up and instantly cursed my mind for playing a trick on me.

I was also cranky when I saw the opening page of gmail this morning and said, “another feature? I cannot learn anything new. I really give up, Josh. Now I have to set the date on the email?”

He pointed out that this was a joke.

I really don’t like April Fools Day.

But the main reason why I dislike April Fools Day–a few bloggers came up with a really cool idea behind the scenes that you will want to participate in because it helps one of our own. But I’m too scared to post it and have people think it’s a joke. So I’m holding off a few hours. But come back later to see how you can help with this really cool idea. Damn you, April Fools Day, cursed wretch of a holiday.

It feels as if it has been a sufficiently long enough amount of time to be a surprise today. And to be honest, it just felt right today. Every time I’ve gone to post it, I’ve paused. And today, I reworked this top portion of the post and then hit publish. Why today? I don’t know except that it felt right.

For those who have no idea what they are about to read, last summer, we started an ongoing project called Secret Ode Days. The idea behind it came from a neighbour who had a floating family holiday where they decorated a tree in their front yard one morning every year and all the kids from the neighbourhood were invited to come harvest the lollipops. Therefore, all the kids in the neighbourhood woke up every morning with this anticipation that this could be the sweetest day. And when it did happen, it was the best day. I hoped these words would be like those lollipops–popping up when you least expected them and making your whole day.

The other impetus for this project was that people simply don’t tell people nice things nearly enough. We save our best words to say when the person can’t hear–I’m not just talking about after the person is gone, but how we tell good stories about others or think kind thoughts about another person, and they never know. Therefore, here was a chance to anonymously let a fellow blogger in the community hear how much their words and actions mean to you. It is also your semi-regular reminder to pick up the phone and call someone you love today and tell them how much they mean to you. Go ahead–you can leave the blog open on the screen. Nudge, nudge (and not in the wink, wink way) go pick up the phone. We can wait for you.

So here is the third string of odes for the Secret Ode Day project. Secret Ode Days pop up unexpectedly. Whenever I have a critical mass, I will post a set of odes. It may be tomorrow. It may be next week. You may be waiting months to see them again.

Want to join in the love fest? Write a paragraph (or two or three) about your favourite blog (or blogs!) and send it to thetowncriers@gmail.com (do not post them on this entry or it ruins the surprise. Anything posted here will simply remain part of this love fest–so yes, say kind things about a fellow blogger…cough…or myself…but if you want to write your own secret ode, email it to me)

Frequently Asked Questions:

• Anyone can submit one.
• You can write one about someone who has already had a paragraph written about their blog (there is no limit to how many odes can be written about a person).
• All paragraphs are posted anonymously.
• You can write about more than one blog (giving each a separate paragraph). If you’re in a particularly loving mood, feel free to write ten of them!
• You do not need to have a blog to submit one.
• Whenever I have a critical mass, I will post a new Secret Ode Day entry.
• The beauty of Secret Ode Day is that just because your blog doesn’t show up in the current post doesn’t mean that there won’t be a paragraph about it during the next post. And just because you appear in one post doesn’t mean that you won’t be mentioned in the next post too. It’s just always a surprise–sort of like waking up in the morning and finding the trees decorated with lollipops.
• If you have a submission, send it to thetowncriers@gmail.com. Be sure to include the url as well as the blogger’s name if possible.
• If you want to write one about me, create a fake email account to send it. All entries are kept anonymous from the blogger. So the only way to keep it anonymous from me is to make up a fake name and email account!

The Odes of the Day:

Niobe at Dead Baby Jokes

Niobe records her grief over the loss of twins with piercing clarity and raw honesty. Her intelligence and mastery over words make for posts that are incredibly beautiful and poetic, often rich with literary allusion. She also posts some stunning photographs. But aside from all that, I think what keeps me coming back to her blog daily is her unfailing honesty and vulnerability about and in her grief. That, and the dark humor, which the world needs more of.

IVF2Women at Babies on Ice

I’m still waiting for the denouement of this riveting story. The writing is in turn funny, thought-provoking, and with an underlying humanity. This is gamete donation from the other side of the fence, from a couple who know what it is to struggle.

Pam and Dtrini at Baby Wanted: Apply Within

A dual-voiced blog from Pam and her husband. Not only do we get to hear from the (often absent) male perspective, but their love for each other shines through and is an inspiration. They have now moved onto to donor eggs and I wish them well!

Serenity at Serenity Now!

Serenity and I started blogging at around the same time. I have always been touched by her sincerity, her honesty, and by her willingness to reach out to others. She has been knocked down so many times, yet she always gets back up and somehow manages to muster up some hope for whatever comes next. I’m glad she has gotten her golden ticket.

Thalia at Thalia’s Fertility Journey

I think that Thalia is one of the most amazing women in blogland. Hers was one of the first blogs I read, and at that time I never dreamed that I would have to go through what she has been through. Before she got pregnant, I was always amazed at her strength and willingness to continue no matter what roadblocks were placed in her way. I am thrilled that she finally has a healthy girl.

Patience at The Impatient Patient

Patience has always inspired me probably more than anyone else. With several losses and a failed adoption behind her, she still manages to get out of bed everyday. This woman is a true survivor, and whenever I start feeling down on my luck and like I don’t want to keep going, I think of her. I want so badly for her to finally become a mother.

Julia at Here Be Hippogriffs

Julia’s blog was the first IF blog I ever read. She is one of the few bloggers who is dealing with balanced translocation. I am seriously in awe of this woman. She lost so many pregnancies, but never gave up on adding another biological child to her family. Through each pregnancy I found myself stalking her blog and hoping so hard that this would be it, and with each loss I have cried for her. I am so thr
illed that she finally has her twins.

Ultimate Journey at Still Trying After All Those Pills

Last year, Ultimatejourney at Still Trying After All Those Pills dealt with some tremendous disappointments, the biggest of which is discovering the need to go through with DI after finding out her husband has azoospermia. She writes with honesty and warmth. She tries her best to keep a positive outlook, but also doesn’t hide the fact that she wishes things were different. I was laughing out loud as I read about her and her husband’s search for their “baby daddy.”

Matthew at Maybe Baby

Matthew at “Maybe Baby” is not only one of the few guys out there blogging about IF, but also one of the most personable and enjoyable blogs out there about IF. He writes with realism and optimism about the ups and downs of the journey, and frequent comments from wife Constance add a rich conversational depth. Plus his graphics are really cool, and he’s often very funny.

And another ode to Matthew at Maybe Baby

While I like to think that my husband and I have really strong communication skills, it certainly takes a lot of work to truly understand one another. That said, what I appreciate about Matt’s blog is that he offers another glimpse into the male perspective and ultimately I think that helps me to understand my husband and my own situation that much better. Matt’s writing is sensitive, funny, thoughtful and all the things that make me want to go back again and again for more.

Sarah S-P at The Island

I go the “The Island” daily for Sara S-P’s latest news, for links to interesting information (everything from research to celebrity gossip), for the fascinating cast of characters (from Crack Lady to difficult Boss L), for the cool setting (New Orleans), and just because Sara has started to feel like a friend. Reading back through her archives made me cry over her loss, and I can also resonate so strongly with the ongoing frustrations over TTC, IUI, and so on. Sara’s determination and dedication have put me in her cheering section.

Nancy at The New Life of Nancy

As a long-time follower of Nancy’s, I find myself hoping and praying for her almost as much as for myself. She often brings “behind the scenes” issues in the blogosphere out to the forefront, allowing for an intelligent conversation. I know that she’s opened my eyes on some issues, and caused me to think, really think, about how I feel – behave – comment, on other issues. Never afraid of an argument, she does a great job of “calling out” things that she feels need to be out there, and in turn, she opens an honest dialogue with people

Chicklet at Blurb This!

I can’t understand how anyone could read this woman’s writing, and NOT love it. She’s honest about what she’s currently dealing with, shares the gory details in a way that makes them readable, and finds a way to give everything she writes that dash of snarky humor only she can provide. Reading her blog has helped me to open up within my own blog. And I love love LOVE the conversations she and her hubby have. I strive for a marriage that is that honest, that real, and still that fun.

If you are on the list, no, you can never know who wrote this about you. The point is that it’s a secret ode. But you could probably write a post on your blog thanking them and they’ll see it. And if you have felt intense love here, pay it forward with your own secret ode.

Keep them coming. Whenever I have a critical mass, I’ll post them. If you’ve been moved to write about your favourite blogger (or bloggers) or want to pay it forward with an ode of your own, email me a paragraph at thetowncriers@gmail.com.