And the Winner Is...

With it being Oscar time and all, I’ve been thinking lately about giving out rewards and awards (I’ll admit I didn’t get to see a single movie this year, however, and the only reason I’m watching the Oscars is because I’m visiting my sister and she has a big flat screen TV).

I have nothing against recognizing hard work, talent, creativity, or acting ability, but it always seems to me if we’re going to do this Oscar thing, maybe it could be expanded to include some other folks. On the other hand, I’m not so sure that the rewards and awards thing is even an especially good idea. I remember when my kids were in grade school and high school; awards were big. There were sports awards, academic awards, and awards for citizenship and volunteerism. 

Although I was the proud mother of three boys who always came home from these events with at least one, and often several of these awards in hand, I always wondered what it must feel like for the kids who didn’t get anything. What about the kid who should get an award just for making it to school because there are so many odds stacked against him? What about an award for the special ed child who managed to read To Kill a Mockingbird? What about the award for the child who didn’t join in when the other guys on the team were making fun of a “geek”?

You get my drift. So not to be sour-grapey about the Academy awards, or achievement awards, I still have a feeling that we’re missing something here. To wit, I would like to propose my own set of awards, which I’m going to distribute (via this blog) to a few folks I know. So as not to embarrass them  I won’t "name names." Anyway, if they happen to read this, they’ll know who they are.

So here goes:

The Award for Listening to me worry, fret, and complain—at all hours of the day and night and often when least expected-- goes to my very best friend. 

The Award for Healing: to my sister.

The Award for not minding the dust and clutter in my home (and especially in my home office) goes to my husband.

The Award for best pastries ever: to my niece.

The Award for being hilariously amusing, witty, clever, and for quoting the Bhagavad Gita goes to my three sons.

The Award for teaching me compassion, patience, and non-judgment goes to my yoga teachers.

And…last, but not least, the Award for getting up every morning, facing the day with courage and trust, and doing their best, no matter what, goes to everyone else. I think everyone deserves an Oscar for getting out there and trying. After all, sometimes we have to put on quite an act to get through the day!