When I was trying to figure out if I could make a connection between Dr. Seuss’s birthday (March 2nd) and thoughtful pinches, my daughter said, “Why don’t you just Wikipedia him and see if he gave to charities? Then you can write about that.”  Brilliant! So I dove into the numerous websites that are literally and figuratively brimming with information on Dr. Seuss, which I learned is pronounced Zoyce, rhyming with choice, instead of Seuss rhyming with juice.  Theodor Seuss Geisel was born on March 2, 1904. He was a man WAY before our time - a legend. I’m always in awe when I read one of Dr. Seuss’s books because his insight was colorful and far-fetched but the morals of his stories are spot on even in this day and age. In my research I learned a lot about the man they called “Dr. Seuss” and laughed when I read a claim on one of the websites that Dr. Seuss was as much as a doctor as Dr. Dre.  

Well, I didn’t make it very far into my research on Dr. Seuss’s philanthropic life before I got stuck in a sea of quotes that he left behind.  I had written, in a past post, that using quotes can be thoughtful pinches so I would be remiss if I did not share some of my favorite Dr. Seuss quotes: 

“Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!”

My interpretation: Look how excited Dr. Seuss was to be different from everybody else. How many times do we catch ourselves wanting or wishing to be someone else? Instead, stand out. 

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.”

My interpretation: The blame game is out. Create your destiny. 

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

My interpretation: If I made time to read, I would probably be further along than running around in circles because I’m too busy to read. 

“A person’s a person, no matter how small.”

My reflection: When my son was a toddler I didn’t use baby words when I spoke. I must clarify: I did not expect him to act grown up just because I talked with him as a little person. I didn’t realize that I was doing that until a good friend of mine pointed it out.  She complimented me for treating him like a small person because I didn’t speak to him, I spoke with him.  This friend of mine has four kids and was an educator. It surprised me when she said witnessing the way I spoke was a game changer for her.  

“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”

My interpretation: The most loyal way to honor a loss. Whether it is a game or a loved one.

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”

Message received loud and clear.

“Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.”

My reflection: As my mom declutters she has questions for me that seem so complicated. Does she hang onto these items because the memory is greater than the need for space?  I answer with a quick yes or no. It is simple for me because I have already made up my mind about what is important to me and what is not. If it doesn’t fall into the category of important then it needs to go. 

“You ought to be thankful, a whole heaping lot, for the places and people you’re lucky you’re not!”

My interpretation: The grass is not always greener. 

“Maybe Christmas, the Grinch thought, doesn’t come from a store. “

My reflection: The Grinch is onto something here - I’m going to reach deeper this year so that my Christmas pinches are not all purchased from a store (a.k.a. Amazon).  

Wikipedia mentions that the University of California San Diego renamed a library to Geisel Library in honor of the generous donations and The Seuss’s devotion to improving literacy. I wish I could mention the many other organizations and foundations that Dr. Seuss contributed to but I got a little side-tracked reading all 99 quotes and learning about his life. The philanthropy angle that I was supposed to use to connect Dr. Seuss to thoughtful pinches was sort of a bust. But since everything happens for a reason, my daughter’s initial suggestion lead me to learn that Dr. Seuss left behind so much more than contributions to charity.  The thoughtfulness he used in his quotes were so inspiring, helpful, strong and wise. He had so much to say. He had the ability to shape young readers, start trends and pave the way for so many writers for children and adult books. To me, that’s plenty of reasons for Dr. Seuss to be mentioned in a blog about thoughtfulness. 

Let’s salute a man, who did not have any biological kids of his own and in fact, was scared to play with kids because they were unpredictable. Yet Dr. Seuss knew what and how to write so that kids of all ages would read and discover. His birthday is on March 2nd and Early Moments gives a few fun ideas on how you can celebrate: 1) Wear stripes, particularly red and white stripes. Striped socks would be cool unless of course you happen to have a red and white striped top hat. 2) Eat green eggs and ham. 3) Make Trufulla trees.  Or better yet, 4) buy some of his books. If you don’t have small children, give the books to families that do. March 2nd has been adopted as “Read Across America Day”.  

Pinches,

Barb