It's possible these blogs - or a little girl's hug -could brighten your day too.

This morning, I awoke later than most of you. It was just after 7 and I was awake until close to 2 and by my calculations that's not enough sleep. Which is one of the reasons I decided, within a few minutes, that today might be a challenging one. Particularly since my usual series of Count Your Blessings exercises to quickly get back on track didn't work as immediately or as well as it usually did.

Then the little 4 year old girl who lives in the house above the basement apartment I rent saw me coming for coffee, grinned, and came to give me a hug as she said "Good morning!" And I thought perhaps it wouldn't be all that bad.

After that, I still wasn't thoroughly convinced, so - huge cup of coffee in hand - I decided to give in and read some blog posts. I subscribe to rather a lot of them, and the cranky voice reminding me that I wasn't even in the mood to craft a blog post of my own today, pointed out that even bloggers who don't write every day, or even every week, have found the inspiration to blog today, so maybe I'd have to try harder too.

And then it happened. In the lives of others, reading of their thoughts and challenges and recommendations, I found affinity and kinship. I learned that:

• Emily is in love with spring. And I let myself become enthralled with the view through her lenses as I read "Legs are everywhere … on runners, yard sale tables, lemonade stands, beetles, fire ants."
• Wrenda encourages creativity by creating cozy nooks for ourselves through the adding of a beautiful accent piece or two, to our interior spaces.
• Tom hasn't lost his sense of humor in spite of an unfortunate accident. I was at once alarmed and laughing as I read "Last night my car was totaled when I crashed it into a trailer full of chickens." (I mean, really. You show me a better opening line in your blog roll!)
• Dena is struggling to lose a few pounds, too, in spite of her serious Training For Boston workout regimen. (Kind readers will refrain from pointing out that Dena wants to lose 4 pounds and I want to lose, um, more than that.) She's making her dream happen, and all the while, real-life-challenges hound even the most dedicated of us all.
• Cynthia is empowered by her regular yoga practice. And I look at the photo, considering, once more, that its practitioners are clearly onto something. I think I'm getting closer.
• Janelle is bringing non-competitive running to the community through Miles for Smiles. And when I saw the photo she posted in her most recent blog post, I sat right here with a big old grin on my face. Because how could I not? Then gave myself "an old fashioned talking to" that included all kinds of angles about gratitude and giving back and how life is wonderful no matter which way you slice it.
• Brenna loves her boucherie. And even if I'd ever in my life had cause to use the words "my boucherie," she made it so much better by showing us these photos in which their sign included happy pink - P I N K ! ! - lettering, and these angelic cows and pigs. (Yes. I just wrote "angelic cows and pigs" in my blog. Click here and you'll see why.)

Even after all this, I have to admit I'm just not 100%. Lack of sleep too many nights in a row will do that to you. But I gotta' tell you, I'm on my way. Thanks to each of these people who blogged and let me be a part of their world for a few minutes.

Sometimes people ask me why I blog and why I read the blogs of others. This is why. Because just like going to a weekend backyard barbecue at your neighbor's house, it connects you with the lives of others. I'm not saying that reading about real-life-activities should ever take the place of actually living your own, and getting out amongst the people. But the 'net makes those you might otherwise not see very often, much, much more accessible. And that can't be a bad thing.

What helps you when you wake up struggling? Care to share? Any blog posts grab you today? I'd love to hear about them!

Update on Wednesday, 7 April, 2010 at 2:32 PM by Melody

Good thing I'm distracted, while at my writing group. Decided to look at something on my website...discovered I never checked the "publish" box. Sheesh!