On Dr. Seuss and Failing

When I was a kid, I wanted to be Dr. Seuss when I grew up. Now that I’m a grown up, frankly? I secretly would like to be one of those mommy bloggers who shares her ideas and, you know, just has her cute life together, but I don’t think I’m gonna make it anytime soon.

In honor of Dr. Seuss’s Birthday-Day, I decided to try to invent a new, healthier variation on my old tradition of green deviled eggs and ham, and photoblog the whole thing in such a cute way that I could make a Pinterest banner of it.

It didn’t work out that way.

I won’t go into the details of how I started with this:

and ended up with that:

So, I’d never eat these on a boat, with a goat, on a train, in the rain, or pretty much anywhere.

Suffice it to say, I understand why Mr. Sam-I-am-Not was against the whole thing, until he tried it. Luckily his try turned out well. Mine? Let’s just say they didn’t taste better than they looked. But things worked out okay anyway. I think I’ll finish the rest of my story in rhyme:

As I choked down my eggs, though they looked like The Grinch,
I asked, “WHY did I think this would be such a cinch?
I’d wanted to be a most excellent Seuss-er;
Instead, I just feel like a whimsical loser.”

It seemed then a voice whispered into my ear,
“Do you think Dr. Seuss never failed, my dear?”
So I googled a bit and learned more of his story:
Twenty-seven rejections preceded his glory!

But I argued, “It’s not really glory I’m after.
I just want the good life, with its love, joy, and laughter.”
“But you’ve got that!” the voice quickly issued correction,
“Your life is perfected in its imperfection.”

And so, in the spirit of Dr. Seuss Day,
I say, try something new! To fail is OK!
Have fun, be creative, and just do your best,
for it’s only through failure that we’ll find success.