Day 54: Oh, the Places You'll Go!

Cole and I both grew up reading (and loving) all the Dr. Seuss books, and have every intention of passing our love for these books on to our kiddos someday.

Not too long after learning that we were pregnant, Cole and I began thinking of ideas for the nursery. We (well, Cole) decided pre-pregnancy that we would not find out our baby's sex until the delivery. So, we tried to think of gender neutral themes together, and picked Dr. Seuss. I pinned nursery ideas based on Oh, the Places You'll Go, and Cole was excited to project Truffula Trees from The Lorax all over the walls.


Yesterday, Cole and I drove 40 minutes up to Springfield, MA, home of the Dr. Seuss Memorial Sculpture Garden. Though we've both traveled to the area several times before, neither of us had ever been there. The garden was created by Dr. Seuss's stepdaughter, Sculptor Lark Grey Dimond-Cates, and boasts over 30 bronze sculptures of Dr. Seuss story characters (including the Lorax, the Cat in the Hat, Yertle the Turtle, and Horton), and one of Dr. Seuss himself. 

The most touching, though, is a sculpture of the book "Oh, the Places You'll Go". We recalled the story of a man who gifted his daughter a copy of this book, signed by each of her teachers and mentors over the last 13 years... an idea that we want to steal for our children someday. Together, Cole and I stood reading every word. We wrapped our arms around each other as we read: "And when you're in a Slump, you're not in for much fun. Un-slumping yourself is not easily done. You will come to a place where the streets are not marked. Some windows are lighted, But mostly they're darked." We reflected on the slump that we had been in following our loss, and the un-slumping that we've done together over the past 54 days. There are hard days, still, and this was one of them.

Then Dr. Seuss reminded us: "But on you will go though the weather be foul. On you will go though the enemies prowl. On you will go though the Hakken-Kraks howl. Onward up many a frightening creek, though your arms may get sore and your sneakers may leak. On and on you will hike. And I know you'll hike far and face up to your problems whatever they are."

We still look forward to reading Dr. Seuss to our kids. And we hope that it is as inspiring to them as it was, and still is, to us: "You're off to great places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. Get on your way!"