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Monthly Archive: May 2025

Audience of One

Twenty-eight posts, 1,700 views and 575 visits later, SusanScribbles turns one!

My favorite SusanScribbles stat, however, is the variety of countries those visitors came from. Germany and the Netherlands kind of make sense, but Turkey? Sweden? Philippines? I love it. Admittedly, they probably stumbled here by accident, but I find this list interesting, nevertheless.

The other interesting stat is that my most popular post – Brooklyn – has five times the number of views than any other post. I would love to believe that my grandniece is just that popular, but if I’m being honest, it could just be her much-googled name.

When I started writing many moons ago (before the word blog was even a word), I heard that you should always have your mother read your writing because creating something and baring your soul creates a real vulnerability. I experienced this early on when one of my first pieces in writing class was, shall we say, not received as well as expected. I boo-hooed all the way home telling myself you better toughen up, Missy, or give this up right now!

Even though I remain a self-proclaimed mush, I learned to deal with the rejection and soldier on. Hubby has always been my number one editor, but sister Carol always enjoyed reading anything I wrote. Now, when I’m considering what to write, I always consider what Carol would think. I’m sure of one thing, she would love knowing that her new grandbaby’s post is by far the most popular.

Thanks for all the support over the past year. It’s appreciated more than you know.

Mothers

Is it just me or does everyone feel that sometimes the Universe is sending a message?

This one began with the mesmerizing docuseries, The Americas, narrated by Tom Hanks. Each week we were treated in a spectacular way – thanks to groundbreaking technology – to the wonders, secrets and fragilities of the world’s greatest supercontinent. By all accounts, every episode was incredible, but the thing that moved me most was the undeniable thread of strength, courage and tenacity of the mothers, and the incredible instinct and care each had for her young. Just to name a few: the prairie rattlesnake that went twenty months without eating and only “drinking” by flattening herself out to maximize surface area to receive approximately 2 millimeters of rainfall per month, the Pygmy owls of Mexico, the Harpy Eagle of the Amazon Rainforest, the “elegant” Puma of Patagonia, and the most moving of all – the Mama Octopus in the West Coast episode. Week after week, the series left me breathless and in awe. I could not recommend more.*

At the same time, I just happened to be reading Nina Riggs’ memoir about “living and dying,” which is a testament of unwavering love for family. In The Bright Hour, Riggs – the mother of two young sons – writes “I can let go of a lot of things: plans, friends, career goals, places in the world I want to see, maybe even the love of my life. But I cannot figure out how to let go of mothering them.”**

Admittedly, I have a tendency toward sentimentality, but these happenings leading up to today – Mother’s Day – gave me pause. Perhaps the message is part of a larger sign of the beauty and fragility of life. Perhaps it is a reminder to support and appreciate one another. Perhaps it is merely an opportunity to say Happy Mother’s Day.

**This article was the catalyst for Riggs’ memoir:
When A Couch is More Than A Couch