Susan Courtad | The Next Stage

Paper or plastic?

Susan — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 20:04:00 +0000

You might have guessed by now I’m a bit old school when it comes to technology and tech trends in my personal life. Still no smart phone, no iPads in sight, one laptop for the whole family, a Wii that’s 3 years behind (do they make Wii’s anymore?), 6th- or 7th- generation iPod nanos for the kids and a 1st- or 2nd-generation iPod for me. I don’t use it much, but wow. That is old.

I also like to read…actual books! Yes, books and magazines of paper! My daughter has a Nook and the son wants a Kindle. Me? I just love curling up in my comfy leather chair with a good helping of pulp fiction and wood pulp. A colleague forwarded this to me today and you can decide. Are you more paper or plastic? Emma or no?

(Ironically, I work in digital marketing. I do get it. I just choose it for people other than me.)

Biking it old school

Susan — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 16:20:16 +0000

A few months ago I bought a bike as a birthday gift to myself — mind you, my birthday was months away, but it seemed like a good excuse after talking about it for two years. I finally had a chance to take it out last week for a ride on one of the trails along the river banks of Pittsburgh. The rails-to-trails system is perfect if you’re a recreational biker like me – i.e., I like the wind in my face and getting exercise outdoors without having to master big hills (or any hills) or road traffic. It doesn’t hurt that the trail we often ride after work conveniently goes by a bunch of restaurants for a little dinner-time stop off.

Yes, I realize the irony of stopping at a place called The Cheesecake Factory where the smallest-sized portions are the size of, say, a bike.

Anyway, I just love my new Schwinn — it’s kind of old-school with new features, comfortable and fun to ride. The weather is gorgeous here today and we might head north for a ride after work at a nearby state park. Someday we’d like to take a whole week and bike along the Great Allegheny Passage, which runs from Western PA to Washington, DC. First, I need to build up some stamina…and I might require at least one Cheesecake Factory along the way.

The Power of Gradual

Susan — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 12:47:59 +0000

Behold the power of slow and steady, of making gradual investments in what is important to you: the quality of your family time, making more out of your career, learning a new hobby or sport or skill, striving to be a better parent, child or friend, losing weight, improving your health, building an organization, writing a blog or a book.

Seth Godin writes, “The truth is, gradual change is challenging and hard: challenging, because the people around you are demanding something great right now, and hard, because gradual requires the faith to know that your hard work is worth the investment…”

He just completed his 5000th blog post, so I guess he knows something about his subject.

Spring fever

Susan — Thu, 23 May 2013 22:00:03 +0000

When I re-started blogging in January I decided I wouldn’t put pressure on myself to post at any specific frequency. My goal is to post once a week and, for the most part, I’ve been able to do that. I’d also like to write compelling, funny, relevant and/or thought-provoking posts, but who am I kidding? This is a personal blog about my midlife mayhem (a fine reality TV show title)! I think up ideas all the time, but some are just downright inane when compared to what’s happening in the world today.

But I suspect you don’t you come here expecting hard news and careful introspection, so here’s a round-up of my last two weeks:

Garage sale madness continued, then not.

Remember the mega sale in April? No? Well, I do and not just because I’m scarred for life from the experience of hauling in and hauling out, storing and sorting family wares for 2 years. They talk about house remodeling sending people to the brink of divorce? Prepping for a garage sale comes close to that. Anyway, I’ll always remember the sale because we made $500 for us and another $100 that went back to family members. Woohoo! Last weekend we decided to try and unload even more at a local “Junk in Your Trunk” sale. These are like flea markets and popular in the UK (called “car boot sales”). We made another $75 and then donated the remaining items to Goodwill. I don’t have the stomach to do this each year — and I hope we never have that much stuff again — but it boosted our vacation fund AND helped to clean out my mother-in-law’s and our house. Bonus: Our neighbors can stop thinking we’re the Clampets moving stuff in and out of our house all the time.

Oh, mother.

Oh, brother. I’ve wanted to write about recent experiences with my mother and mother-in-law – after all, part of my return to blogging was to connect with other members of the “sandwich generation” – but it’s just not my place to write about it in detail. Suffice it to say, I’m worried about each of them and, if I’m being honest with myself, about how their decisions are impacting or will impact my life. Welcome, guilt-ridden Sandwich Member! I’ll leave this topic for now, but will share more later. This weighs on my mind.

I am writing, then not, then I am, then not, then…

Decided I need to buckle down on this. (Again. And again.) After all, now that I’m focusing back on what’s in front of me and no longer busting my ass looking for “other opportunities” I can devote energy to what I enjoy, including writing. I spent time last week writing a query/pitch to collaborate on a book with an independent publisher. I’ve also drafted an essay to submit for an anthology. I, of course, think I’m wonderfully qualified for both of these opportunities. Others may not, but you have to be in it to win it. P.S. Notes, ideas, images for my novel continue to bounce around in my head. I’m hoping they’ll make it to paper this summer. Which brings me to…

Ready for summer “vacation” more than the kids.

Like T-Rex, I’m burned out from the school year and have been suffering from spring fever. This week we spent three long nights at wonderful-but-long school concerts and events – did I mention they were long? We’re finishing up taekwondo lessons next week before taking a break for the summer. (The kids protested at first, but I think they’re so pooped out now they don’t mind.) I’m so ready for summer: we’ll go biking, swim, relax, run around camp…

Oh, wait, I still have to go to work every day! Well, I’m still looking forward to the all that fun crammed into evening hours before 9 p.m. and weekends. Yep, can’t wait for that relaxing, “unscheduled” time.

How about you?

Motherhood is not a roller coaster

Susan — Sun, 12 May 2013 12:47:53 +0000

Here’s a little essay I wrote about Mother’s Day. It appears online, along with many others, at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms – I hope you can take a few moments today to enjoy the ride!

People say motherhood is like riding a roller coaster, but I think of it as visiting the whole amusement park.

It’s true that we moms experience our share of heart-pounding thrills, those moments when exhilaration and panic meet. They include a child’s many “firsts”: His first steps. The first time she performs a solo onstage. The day you know they will leave you to go off to college or to live their own lives.

Raising kids makes us moms want to scream, too – but not in the hands-waving, “I’m having fun” way! (More like the Edvard Munch way!) From the time my kids were infants I’ve grit my teeth through stages I thought would never end, only to be surprised when a “good” stage of childhood ended far too soon…usually just as I had it figured out. I’m lucky, though. My frustrations have been over things like tantrums and missed homework assignments; maybe a few outbursts over my lack of time and sleep. Many moms deal with far worse.

People like to compare motherhood to riding a roller coaster, but a roller coaster can’t convey the bumper-car silliness of watching your son goof around in the backyard with his buddies. Or the lazy-river-calm of rocking your baby in the middle of night. Or feeling like you’ve won the biggest prize in the world when you see your teenager show extra kindness toward a classmate who’s a little different or, unexpectedly, toward you.

I’m amazed at how much I’ve learned as a mom and yet how little I know sometimes. Motherhood has its highs and lows, but it isn’t a closed, predictable loop. With every sight, every sound, every ride, every day, I discover something new about my children and myself.

[Now, doesn't that make you want to visit Kennywood or your favorite park?!]