On Struggling And Succeeding {Lessons From Dr. Seuss}

"You'll be on your way to up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers
Who soar to high heights. 

You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.
You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you'll be best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest. 

Except when you don't.  

Because, sometimes, you won't. 

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..."

Aiden must have sensed that I was in a weird funk last week because he kept insisting on reading Dr. Seuss' Oh, The Places You'll Go! And after reading it for the millionth time, the words finally resonated with me. Truer words have never been spoken, my friends.

Resilience. Sometimes all we can do is get back up again.

My world is not perfect. It's certainly not all peaches and cream and popsicles over here. I struggle. A lot. I struggle with wanting and needing 5, 10, 15 more minutes of sleep in the mornings. I struggle with providing the right balance of TV time and cultural outings for Aiden. In fact, I've been known to plop him in front of the TV on a Saturday morning (on more than one occasion) just so I can sneak in 10 more minutes of sleep.

I struggle with balancing work and Motherhood. I used to pride myself on my time management skills. But that was BC (before child). At times, I struggle with meeting deadlines and responding to emails in a timely manner. I love things neat and in order in my life and so I take 15 minutes to tidy up the kitchen, living room, and bathroom... most nights. But sometimes I'll go weeks on end without doing any of that. Then I'll clean the entire apartment... before company comes over.

I struggle with the growing pains of being a young, single mother. I struggle with figuring out my next career move. I struggle with dealing with the other parent. I struggle with... slumps and funks and getting over Life's hurdles. Most of the time, I'm on top of things, but sometimes... sometimes it's a constant race to "catch up." And get back up again.

My world is less than perfect. I don't pretend for it to be anything but that. But this less-than-perfect world is what makes it so precious. And rewarding. And fun.

I embrace it. Because as crazy as it may be at times, it's still some kind of awesome. And I kind of like it like that.

"And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)
KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS! 

You're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So... get on your way!"

WORD!