Niceness Really Does Matter

I'm remiss in writing a thank you note, so today is the day to catch up. On Halloween, the Headmistress of St. Daniel the Stylite Academy (aka Fine Old Famly) presented me with a Niceness Matters Award on her blog. And this is a very nice thing, not only because I'm humbled to be the recipient, but because it's just nice to hear that someone sees something good in amongst all the mayhem I commit on a daily basis. I want to be nice, but what I usually end up as is impetuous, rash, petulant, cranky and overstretched; all of which tend to feed off of one another until I feel like just about anything but nice. However, the daily example set by the members of FOF make me want to try harder, and perhaps on some small scale I'm succeeding gradually.

The nature of the Niceness Matters Award is that each recipient is to pass it on to someone else who exhibits qualities that are nice. My nominee for the next award is Redneck Mother, who lives and blogs in Texas about her two kids, Rocketboy and Hurricanehead; her husband Hombre (whom I gather is also a writer); homeschooling, organic gardening and raising chickens.

Now, I've never actually met Redneck Mother (I've never actually set foot in Texas, although I've logged about 48 hours in the Dallas-Fort Worth airport), and I can't even remember how I stumbled across her blog. It doesn't matter. She's a good writer, and by all appearances, a very good mother, teacher and home farmer. She does everything with a passion and fire that is consistent and powerful, and maintains a lively sense of humor, even when recounting issues that just aren't funny at all.

I always enjoy her blog, and often learn something new, including what happens when a child mistakes neosporin for hair gel, and how to build a solar oven. She loves her Hombre, her boys, her chickens and her place on the planet. And that, folks, is pretty darn nice.