Willowjak's Memes

I had an idea this morning. It wasn't really original, I'll admit, but at least I can take pride in the fact that my brain cells were working even before the caffeine was administered. Before I share it with you, let me let you in on a word that took me a while to figure out. Much like any other community, the blogging world has its own language full of acronyms and specific vocabulary that are used, sometimes forgetting that non-bloggers may not have a freakin' clue of what we're talking about.

What is a MEME?

I stole this from chrisg.com because he can explain it far better than I ever could:

"In science, a Meme (pronounced to rhyme with “theme”) is a self-propagating unit of thought that is spread from one host to another. Richard Dawkins invented the term as a kind of idea-gene. Like genes, as Memes spread they mutate or die. Only the fittest Memes survive.

For bloggers Memes have become synonymous with internet quizzes, surveys, and novelties that people link to and pass around on their blogs, forums and via email, things like the “which superhero are you most like” test…

Fun or just interesting, it is only those that capture your imagination that you will take part in and propagate, apart from those you do out of a sense of duty to your friend who started it. The latter don’t tend to get very far."

I have participated in quite a few them myself on this blog and found that I mostly use them to get ideas of what I'd like to blog about. Meme's such as Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop are particularly inspiring because she always comes up with great ideas to get the writer imagination flowing.

So my idea this morning revolved around how could I keep myself motivated, to be more disciplined, to keep up with blogging on a daily basis? The answer lay in a schedule. How did I not think of this before? I have two boys with autism, a family with three kids, a dog, a busy husband and an extra grandparent or two living in my spare... I have a lot to juggle and we LIVE by the calendar.. of COURSE I need a schedule for blogging! Duh.

So I have decided to come up with my own memes. (Yes, I said memes with an "S").

Willowjak's Wednesday Words of Advice.
I wouldn't be the mom I am if I haven't picked up a lot of tips, tricks, recipes, advice, recommendations, critiques, etc. along the way. Parenting two children with special needs and one more who needs a lot of extras, requires the support of a lot of people. What better way to gather more ideas, than to host this blog party here on my own blog?

Every Monday I will post a reminder to my readers to start gathering their bag of tricks to pass along to help the rest of us out. You've got a no-fail killer recipe for mac 'n cheese you want to share? Have you read an article that might help us all to understand how to make the big decisions about whether or not to vaccinate your child? Have you read a fantastic book, watched a great movie or want to tell us to avoid a crappy new tv show and you want everyone to know about it? (it doesn't have to be related to parenting) Have you bought a hot new toy that will keep my kids entertained for hours that you want to recommend? Have you lived through an experience that taught you a life lesson that could help someone else if you shared it?

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OR

Willowjak's Wednesday Warriors
We all have our own hardships that we have had to dig deep to find the strength to overcome. I personally draw strength from Mama Warriors. Women who went above and beyond to do their best for their kids. They may not have made the headlines, but we see the evidence in their kids' achieving things others never thought they could. Do you know a warrior? Someone who went above and beyond? Someone who lives their life exceptionally generously on a daily basis? A blogger who has inspired you to be a better person? A fallen soldier you know of or heard about on the news? A child who has beat the odds of circumstance? A survivor?

Inspire us. We all need stories of Warriors to give us strength.


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Blog about it. Even if it seems silly. Even if it's as simple as "don't leave out an enticing, shiny container of diaper cream in case the two year old finds it and decides to redecorate the living room" (this might be my first entry). Even if your Warrior is a woman you read about in the morning newspaper, who saved a neighbourhood cat from a tree.

What do you do to participate?

Blog about it. Please grab the code and post the respective button in your post.

Then come back on Wednesday and link it up in Mr. Linky.

I ask that you check out the two entries above yours and leave them a message.

What role will I play in all this? On Thursday, after reading everyone's entries, I get to choose my favourite (-jealous?). If your post is chosen, I will do a profile about YOUR blog on Thursday. I will also tweet about it and add you to my blog's list of Favourites.

I'm really looking forward to building my own collection of advice and getting inspired by the warriors you choose to write about. More than anything, I'm excited to meet some new bloggers. Mark your calendars for Wednesday!!!



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