When I first began blogging nine years ago, I set out with the goal of being able to write coherent pieces that chronicled my life as a mother. Which meant I blogged about my kids. A lot. I never sought out validation for my efforts. It was merely enough that I had been able to find a tiny particle of space in the Interweb that I could call my own and the freedom to do with it as I saw fit. Now that my kids are older, it is more important than ever that I continue to evaluate my work here on Toronto Teacher Mom and maintain a blog that I am proud of, especially if they happen to read some of it some day. It is also proof to my kids that, if you stick to your goals and give it your all, you can achieve what you once thought unattainable. You see, I never enjoyed writing as a child, or English class for that matter, save the occasional creative writing or poetry assignment. In fact, I loathed the subject. I was unable to express myself clearly using the written word and despised essay writing. I often struggled with reading as well and even made up a book report once based on a book I had never read. What? I just wanted a shiny star sticker beside my name!

While I never got a shiny sticker that day, I did learn that it takes hard work and persistence to overcome hurdles. And although it may be tempting some days to just give up entirely, I take pride in my achievements thus far and have no regrets other than being unable to tell my nine-year-old self: "Hey, you've got this!" It is, therefore, with a humbled heart that I accept a shiny sun in lieu of a star sticker from BrighterLife.ca in recognition of my small contributions to their site over the past year.

Take a look at their roster of favourite family writers. You'll be sure to find some real gems. 

Thank you to BirghterLife.ca for the 2013 and 2014 Family Writers Awards! Here's to a fabulous 2015!