"You're off to great places"

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away! - Dr. Seuss

Today is “Read Across America” day and if I were working with high school students today, I would surely read aloud something fun and whimsical from my hero, Dr. Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss to honor the beauty of literature and his birthday.

Reading with my children as they were growing up has been one of my greatest joys of parenthood. We stretched our reading time well into the chapter book years, and I don’t regret one minute spent turning pages with them, experiencing adventures about dinosaurs, where sidewalks end, fuzzy caterpillars, trees that give, and so much more. Some of the greatest wisdom of our day is spelled out and illustrated in children’s literature.

As I read through Oh the Places You’ll Go today, my mind drifted back to the many times I read this story to students. Even though they hear this book exhaustively during senior year, students visibly relax their gazes, sit back and absorb the cadence of the words and wit of Dr. Seuss when read aloud. Always.

I read this book today with my mind focused on resilience and how we manage adversity in our lives. Even though I have read Oh the Places You’ll Go many times before, each time is new because reading gathers meaning based on what we bring to the table at the moment we read. Never hesitate to re-read a novel; stories are different every time we read them, as we ourselves change in perspective and situation from month to month and year to year.

Geisel encourages in such a realistic way with his whimsical words. He promises the reader of great potential, yet assures the reader there will be bumps in the road, and the bumps can and will be overcome through strength of character and resilience of spirit.
“I’m sorry to say so but, sadly, it’s true that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you.

You can get all hung up in a prickle-ly perch. And your gang will fly on. You’ll be left in a Lurch.

You’ll come down from the Lurch with an unpleasant bump. And the chances are, then, that you’ll be in a Slump.

And when you’re in a Slump, you’re not in for much fun. Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.”

He goes on to tell us that we will get confused and run down wiggled roads at breakneck speed. Words take on new meaning depending on the moment we read them. Yes, I know the downhill, winding road taken at break-neck speed, and I know the slump. There have been times in my life when I would have read this to students and thought of their anticipated disappointments and speed bumps in the road to success. Facing tragedy of my own would have been the furthest thought from my mind.

But adversity happens. The master word crafter soundly expresses: “I’m sorry to say so but, sadly, it’s true that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you.” None of us is immune to difficulty, but we have the choices to right the wrongs and come out on top, or bury ourselves in the muck and wallow (which I do from time to time, and it is totally allowed, as long as muck wallowing creates needed release and a hot shower follows).

When things down the road “between hither and yon” frighten us so much that we feel like quitting, the doctor confidently predicts we will go “onward up many a frightening creek, though your arms may get sore and your sneakers may leak. On and on you hike. And I know you’ll hike far and face up to your problems whatever they are.”

Nothing feels better than someone expressing confidence in me and Dr. Seuss certainly delivers. He knows I can climb that hill, that I am strong and capable – and I like reading books that don’t hesitate to reinforce my potential.

“Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!”

I smile when I think of my own mountain waiting; I am not yet ready to rise to great heights, but have confidence that with God’s help, I can. I also really like hearing it.
So, in honor of the great writers of children’s literature – read something special a kid, or a dog, or a bird – or yourself today!