Rising Star Award
In August, Julie and I traveled to Providence RI to attend a design conference. It’s one of our favorite trips of the year, reuniting us with designer friends and mentors, all great talents and inspirations in the design world. We always walk away from that trip with a laundry list of to-dos and an exhausted but committed determination to implement all we’ve learned.
This year, an unexpected award amplified that determination. Courtney Thomas Design received the Rising Star award for its accelerated growth and achievement over the last year. It’s equally thrilling and scary to be publicly acknowledged for your hard work. Public acknowledgement sets a high bar of expectation and accountability. It’s like dieting with a partner instead of “dieting” on your own. You can forgive the occasional ice cream sandwich..or two when you’re the only one measuring the results but when results are measured en masse? The fear of failure is ten times worse.
Once the shock of the accolade wore off and the reality of our day-to-day settled back into place, we charted a course for the next milestone and then…oh, and then….the last five minutes of a double-header soccer game brought me to my knees, literally. I tore my right ACL and meniscus August 26th. I knew that my already-battered-knees-from-college-sports were on borrowed time. I just hoped 40 wasn’t their expiration date. And just like that plans and milestones shift.
One week post surgery? I am in awe of and grateful for the amazing tribe that kept CTD running, my kid’s fed, their activities attended and the web of nerve-racking schedules coordinated. The slower pace? It has been…a relief. Turns out, you get a lot done when you’re well enough to focus but not mobile enough to leave your bed. I have addressed and taken action on “to-do’s” that have circulated lists for years. I’ve added new to-do’s that excite me and I’ve recovered some much needed headspace and clarity about the company and its direction. I return to the office next week with a fresh perspective, renewed purpose and replenished resolve. I hope I remember the value of this week’s pause long enough to schedule some of it regularly moving forward. I don’t want to wait for the break-neck pace to force the next break.
Courtney Thomas, ASID
Principal & Lead Designer
My job is to make spaces functional in their layout, comfortable in their use, inspirational in their style and luxurious in their appointment. In that order. For that one moment after installation, the pictures are perfect.
