"Think left and think right and think low and think high, Oh the THINKS you can think up only if you try! " This is one of my favorite quotes from Dr. Suess.... that's right... I said Dr. Suess. He has definitely had impact on my life. Are you surprised? It's probably all starting to come together on where my (and my families') sense of humor comes from. I mean is there anything better than silly nonsensical words, rhymes, super imaginative characters and stories... but all that tell a meaningful story? ( OK - I guess mine don't always tell a meaningful story.... but that is beside the point). Nobody can think up the THINKS that Dr. Suess thinks!
March 2, 1904 is Dr. Suess' birthday..... he would have been 105 this year. With all of the celebrating that my family does it would be ridiculous to think that we would pass up the celebration of this amazing story teller.
I was raised on his books.... which is why I mostly speak in rhyme. My Mother is an early childhood education teacher and my Dad is just wild and crazy. So, that mixture creates a love for reading, imagination, creativity, and story telling. One of my earliest memories is of my Dad reading Green Eggs and Ham to me. Now my parents didn't just read.... they read with different voices and excitement. My Dad would read that book and it was almost like being read as a song... it's hard to explain... but you could tell that he got so much enjoyment out of reading. He would laugh SO hard at every story or rhyme or name of a character. He just brought every thing to life. And then Universal Studios in Orlando REALLY brought every thing to life. They have an entire section of their park dedicated to Suess. It is truly magical and is like walking through my childhood. They even have a restaurant that serves green eggs and ham! I highly recommend visiting this place.... as I do with every theme park in Orlando.
My parents passion for reading was definitely passed on to me. I was obsessed with it as a child and would read anything I could get my hands on. I cannot even explain the excitement I would get when the Schoolastic magazine would be handed out at school. My mom would let me choose a couple of books and I would barely have the patience to wait for them to come in. And then there is the library.... you could have given me a sleeping bag, a pillow, and some fun dip ( I'm anxious to know how many of you know what that is) and told me that I would be living there from now on.... and I would have been thrilled!! In school, I would get to go every week. In the summer I could go every other day. My Mom was always taking us to the library to check out books. A room full of books makes my eyes light up and my tummy say howdy! ( I don't know why my tummy would say howdy unless I thought the books were food - I imagine that a lot of things are food because I am usually hungry). Barnes and Noble is like Disney World to me. I could spend hours and hours in there and have the time of my life.... but I do have job and a husband... so, I HAD to start collecting books instead. And by HAD, I mean I was forced to collect as many books as I could get my hands on. Here is a pic of SOME of the books I have collected... and by SOME I mean there are SO many more that I don't have room for - but don't tell Kev.
I have experienced SO many places, times, and events - I have learned more from reading than I ever did in school .... (because I have a hard time focusing, paying attention, and sitting still...when Kev tries to teach me something, his voice sounds like Charlie Brown's teacher). I am great at predicting the outcome on any CSI, NCIS, or Criminal Minds due to my skills learned from Nancy Drew. My talent for churning butter, catching fish, and making friends with wildlife is due to Laura Ingalls Wilder. Wishing I could cast spells on people who are rude and arrogant comes from my readings of Harry Potter. But ultimately I owe all of my talents to to Dr. Suess
who made it fun to read.
I did not realize the other great thing about Dr. Suess until I was an adult. His books actually have incredible meaning and thoughtful stories. They are not just about silliness and rhyming...
Green Eggs and Ham teaches open mindedness.
The Lorax teaches the importance of caring for the environment
Oh, The Thinks You Can Think teaches creativity and imagination
The Sneetches teaches to not have prejudice - every one is equal
and the list goes on......
I encourage you all to read these books to your children and future children.... especially if you want them to turn out like me! :-) Ok..... hopefully that last statement did not scare you away from reading them.... because they are truly educational and amazing. I would love to have just a smidge of the talent Dr. Suess did.
Remember when I told you that you can stop by my parent's house on any given day... look in the window.. and they will be celebrating something. Well, this pic should prove to you that it is true! On March 2nd I stopped by to discover "The Cat in the Hat" and all of the kids celebrating the work and talent of Dr. Suess. My Mom actually dresses up as the Cat in the Hat every year and goes to the kid's schools to read. How cool is that! She ensures that a love for reading is passed from generation to generation....
And to finish the celebration.... Kev and I had green eggs and ham for dinner!
Happy Birthday Dr. Suess!
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