It’s really amazing, the things that happen out in the world when you’re so wrapped up in your own personal drama and chaos. I’ve been so caught up in recovering from a nasty sinus infection that set in on Sunday night/Monday morning, managing my relationship with Joe, and trying to figure out how to get my career back on track, that I nearly missed out on saying goodbye to one of my favorite bloggers.

I’ve got a touch of insomnia tonight – chalk it up to dealing with the last dregs of the aforementioned sinus infection – so I decided to catch up on a few of my favorite sites. A little Dear Abby, a pinch of Dear Margo (I love me some advice columns and secretly dream of having my own), and then on to the blogs in my Favorites list.

I click on Wide Lawns and Narrow Minds and read a post where S.W., the author of the blog, is saying something about having a collapse a la Mariah Carey/Jim Morrison/{insert another rockstar here}. Hold the phone – what’s going on here? I scroll down and read some more. Come to find out, she’s been vacillating on whether or not to kill her blog. Fortunately for the blogosphere that’s chock full of WLNM fans, she’s going to revamp her blog and focus more on her personal stories. Whew, that was a close one.

But what really blew me away was that she referenced me in her blog resignation letter:

Meeting Moxie last Fall had a huge impact on me. Her words were a tremendous, life altering gift.

If it’s not already obvious, I tend to talk a lot, so when my words resonate with someone, I am always rather surprised, not to mention deeply moved. And I stand by what I said to her last September: she is far, far from being subservient. Her writing encouraged me to bring my A-game to my own blog, and through links on her blog as well as Barista Brat, I’ve gotten a lot of new readers.

So while S.W. isn’t quite saying goodbye, she’s changing her focus to more personal stories and will work more on her first novel. Because she’s shown true gumption, I am hereby declaring S.W. a First Lieutenant of the Moxie Order of Bloggers. May all of you in the blogosphere be inspired by her tenacity, wit, and fast typing skills.

(And just for shits and giggles, if anyone’s interested in soliciting advice from me as well as reading my advice to others, leave me a comment. Based on responses I’ll set up a special e-mail account for people to send in their questions. Who knows? This could well be the jump-start for a new career for me.)