There is a general hum of excitement when an Amazon package arrives outside the home. Is it some exciting thing required for the college-bound daughter, or something that would make the husband excited for his myriad hobbies, or another household item that would make yours truly beam?
Usually, the honors of opening the packages are done by the daughter with her adoring brother watching on. Hope I set the stage sufficiently:
Amazon package on porch
Children of house all expecting something for themselves open it
“Oh The Places You’ll Go” by Dr Seuss. I held the book out to her and gave it to her as a college-going gift.
“Why would I take a children’s book to College Mother?” She said rolling her eyes and wishing her mother would have more sense.
Her grandparents, on the other hand, were truly thrilled by the book.
“What an excellent book ma? It was written the year before his death and has a lifetime of wisdom in it. Excellent book!” said the grandfather.
“Written in such simple terms for children to understand too. ” said the grandmother.
The grandmother and grandfather united in praise of a book shook her a little bit, but how could she? A near-18 year old, always sharing her ripe wisdom with her adoring brother, accept things that easily!
I saw her steal a glance at the book.
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
Any direction you choose.
Dr Seuss – Oh! The Places You’ll Go
I, for my part, was an amused spectator. This book was one of Dr Seuss’s that I read multiple times over – every time I face a bleak stop at the waiting station, or an exciting time where I hope to soar.
Dr Seuss’s book is an energetic reminder that life throws many curveballs, and somehow in this shared sense of struggle and being, a human camaraderie emerges.
And when things start to happen,
Don’t worry. Don’t stew.
Just go right along.
You’ll start happening too.
Oh! The Places You’ll Go – By Dr Seuss
Every human has struggles, has ups and downs, waiting periods where nothing seems to happen.
Every time, I talk to my friends and colleagues who in the course of their careers have inspired and taught me, I think how incredibly lucky I am to have had the ability to work with people like them.
And how, without our knowledge, we all lifted each other up.
You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers
Who soar to high heights.
Oh! The Places You’ll Go – By Dr Seuss
And then, in particularly stressful periods, when you are in the waiting station, and have to learn to un-slump yourself, I read that too, as a reminder that life is never a smooth ride and everyone goes through phases of the not-so-happening, not-so-good.
Yet, at the very end, when the book assures you that all will be well. You do develop an optimism and hope that everything will turn out well in the end.
“And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed)
KID-YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!
Oh! The Places You’ll Go – By Dr Seuss
It is no wonder that this book is popular as a gift for anyone starting out a new phase in life.
Or not. It is a gift for all the times you need a reassurance of all that life takes.
Nourish-n-Cherish 