Even when you fail to comment, seeing that someone looked at my posts still warms my heart. I debated about sharing my blog stats; finally, I concluded that this is important. My family celebrates New Year’s twice since my husband and children are of Chinese descent. Therefore, sharing the fireworks now actually makes more sense.
A special Mahalo to my top five commenters in 2011. FYI Four of them are not connected to the autism community. God Bless them for continuing to have my back! Oh and they were also the first to respond to my e-mails about Miranda’s blog and three of them repeatedly commented on her blog too and the other two still read her blog and made sure I knew they understood. God bless them!
Mahalo to Charlotte from Lifes a Charm, a mom offering insights beyond her years as she raises two young boys. Mahalo to Grace from Blessed Elements, a grandmother and very creative soul, offering ideas about ways to go green to help save our planet while sharing her beautiful jewelry. Mahalo to Aspergirl Maybe, a mom sharing her journey from questioning whether she is an Aspie to the actual diagnosis. Mahalo to Karma Per Diem aka White River Bluff, who shares her amazing photography, knitting talents and stories about overcoming workplace bullying and breast cancer.
I am putting my last, top five commenter in a separate paragraph because he is probably the one who actually has the least amount of time to comment, and I owe his entire family more than I can ever adequately express. Mahalo to Phil Dzialo from Healing, Empowering, and Thriving, a retired high school principal and father, sharing his young, adult son, Adam’s 
story on his long road to recovery from a near drowning. He also shares my book and my blog on his site, and as a retired principal, he offers wonderful insights of how to change our school culture to overcome bullying.
Phil’s equally wonderful wife, Sharon is a former teacher and school counselor and author of a book detailing Adam’s story. She also offers her supportive insights and her positive energy through e-mails and comments too. They both literally have their hands full caring for Adam, yet they never have let me down. I haven’t actually gotten to know their daughter, Aimee except through their stories, but I admire her too. God knows I love this family as much as I love Adam’s smiling face.
Last, but far from least, mahalo to Bobbi Sheahan, who brought the largest numbers to my blog with her two wonderful guest posts, Your Child Has Autism and I Don’t Know What to Say: Seven Ways to Go the Extra Mile to Keep Your Friendship Thriving and The Friends of Special-Needs Parents Respond and They Have a Lot to Say.
Least you missed it there are many others who helped me through 2011 including others who guest posted and who were featured on my blog. I wrote about many of them in November and December. I may still be a misfit and a small voice, but I now know at least some of you are listening because having enough views to fill the Sydney Opera House five times is no small feat.
May 2012 be a year of blessings for all of you!
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt:
The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 14,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 5 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
Delightfully Different Life 
Thank you for mentioning me here! I DO continually follow your blog, and I continually keep good thoughts for you and your family, especially with regards to your struggles, but at most times, putting those good thoughts into comments is hard especially when I feel like I have already said it all. I am glad, too, that you seem to have extended your network.
More power to you, your blog and most of all, your life !
Mahalo Charlotte! Your ongoing support and good thoughts are appreciated.
Very nice! Glad to hear you’re so well-read! It’s very much deserved! 😀
(Can I work a few more exclamation marks in!?!)
Thanks Stephanie!
Sue, thanks so much for the kind compliments. We’re like birds who always return to a fresh, well-stocked bird feeder…always taking in more to sustain us. You can certainly count on our support and enthusiastic following of your blog and the very important work that you engage in.
I should have responded earlier, but when one is in rage….you have to go with it. Me? sometimes obsessively and aggressively so. My friend, Elizabeth, wrote a post about an interaction she had with someone commenting on the Amelia Rivera transplant controversy at CHOP.
http://elizabethaquino.blogspot.com/2012/01/heres-big-old-door-some-shit-and-fly.html.
The repeated theme of controversy is that a person spewed about the criteria for “personhood” ala Warren and Singer (supposed ethicists). The person listed 5 criteria for personhood and, so, most disabled kids I know do not meet the criteria and are reduced to the category of “non-person humans” … translation is that “diminishing marginal utility” is a characteristic of these “non-human persons”. Disposible? So Adam falls into the category and the woman commentator added “One of my very dear friends lost her 13-year-old daughter, while she was awaiting a double lung transplant. Frankly, I would be heartbroken if I were to learn that lungs Jena could have received were given to someone with significantly less of an ability to live life or with a degenerative condition like this.” She was referring to a kid with “retardation” who needed a kidney transplant as having less ability to live life.
I asked the woman for an apology to all disabled parents because of her blatant belief that some “life is not worth living.” I told her that she needed to apologize because the growing unity of the disabled community was a force to be reckoned with. She took that as a threat because she lives a few islands away? My requests were via e-mail not in public. Her comments, by the way, are spreading like a virus in blogs.
Needless to say, still a raving lunatic because my son is not a “non-person human.” Can’t be much wonder where kids learn bullying and discriminatory skills from….sorry, this is a safe place to rant.
Please note I wrote many paragraphs with no profanity…atypical on me. Blessings to all….
Phil,
First, mahalo for your ongoing support and for keeping my blog family friendly by avoiding a few choice words. I’m not sure if you remember, but I use, “BLOOMING ORCHIDS!” when I want to say some of those choice words. I started doing this to try to keep the kids from using more colorful words.
Regarding your comments, I agree 100%. I signed a petition for Ameila and I added a comment that while as an R.N. who formerly worked for insurance companies, I get that there is an ethics committee to determine who gets organs, that I feel that as a society we need to reevaluate our definition of quality of life.
I can’t help but wonder if those who leave mean comments have any idea of how painful a death renal failure can be? I sat with a patient years ago who chose to go off dialysis and die. Why would anyone wish that for a child when there is an alternative? The thing is kidney transplants are the safest of all transplants and Amelia deserves to live as much as anyone.
Hi Sue – well, hopefully your stats help to validate your impact – very impressive! Thank you, again and again, for acknowledging my book. You seem refreshed – perhaps working on the new book has instilled some new energy? There are a few chapters in my book that I would like to re-write – life experience since the book has taught me some new wisdom! Take care. . .
Mahalo Sharon. Please take care of yourself too!