Oh, the Places...

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.

And you may not find any
you'll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you'll head straight out of town

~ "Oh, the Places You'll Go" by Dr. Seuss

If I were smart, I would follow the advice of Dr. Seuss and head straight out of town.  I would leave behind all of the frustrations of the night and just walk away.  I would walk past the bickering sisters who cannot stand the sight of each other, past the little girl who decided Mommy's bed was the best place to give herself a manicure after bedtime, and past the dog who attacked the almost full bowl of  ice cream, that was so incredibly needed.  Sometimes, I wish the life lessons would happen little bits at a time, instead of caving in on me all at once. 

I am not stupid, but do not feel very wise this night.  Blessed, but not totally smart.  I choose to stay.  I choose to walk the path of sticky hands and fingers, nail polish stained sheets, and the little girl whose heart hurts because big sister thinks she is evil.  I even choose to stay where I know unattended food should be considered fair game to the little black dog from you-know-where.  I choose to sit back and struggle with homework, because struggling with it means I am still getting it done.  I know I am totally blessed.  I lost enough babies to know that a tight squeeze on my sunburned shoulders is a gift, not a pain.  Sticky fingers and nail polish can all be cleaned up, and if not, it leaves a memory.  I know that I am traveling this road for a reason, regardless of the road signs I see - "Danger!"  and "Turn back now!" or even, "Enter at your own risk!"  On a serious note, I know that I am going to do big things.  I know the girls are going to be mighty women of God and are going to do huge things, too.  I just have to get us to that place, and luckily enough, I don't have to do it alone.  I have someone who goes before me, who directs my path, and plans my future for prosperity.  I just have to walk it out, even when I see warning signs all around me. 

I am going to keep putting one foot in front of the other.  I pray the girls get good solid sleep tonight, and wake up happy.  I am sure God is looking down on me, frowning at the pandemonium that occurred here tonight, but I  handled it so much better than I used to.  And, by the time they get up in the morning, I will have run 4 or 5 miles, and will feel so much better than I did just a little while ago. 

Dr. Seuss may tell me to head straight out of town, but I choose to just sit in this little spot and find something I want to look forward to, instead of the chaos that is so easy to focus on.  The places He is going to take me are so much better.  He will lead me beside still waters.  He will straighten the curves and smooth out the rough places.  He has this thing all planned out.  I just have to remember where my focus needs to be, instead of oh, the places I could go.