Happy birthday Dr. Seuss

by

(I do love me some Theodore Geisel*)

All over the ‘net

today tributes there are.

Shout outs to Seuss.

From near & from far.

Spoofs on the subject

of green eggs & ham.

Written by cooks

and lovers of SPAM.

I shall spare you an ode

As we do that each day!

The child & I

As we hangout and play.

We yammer ’bout Horton

& Bofas & such.

Because THEODORE GEISEL?

We *love* you so much.

From McElligot’s Pool

To how lucky we are

What you’ve taught about life

From our minds? Never far.

6 things I learned about fitness & healthy living from Dr. Seuss:

  • Did I ever tell you how lucky you are? What I learned: Screw motivation. If we are physically capable of working out we are lucky. No matter how much we wanna whine, lament or moan about how bad we have it the simple fact we are ABLE to exercise makes us one of the lucky ones. This MizFit says: MOJO? SCHMOJO.
  • And to think that I saw it on Mulberry Street. What I learned: Use your imagination. A lot. Liberally. Things are never as impossible or challenging as they may seem (or even as boring as they may initially appear). Get creative. Choose to see life through the lens of WHERE CAN I SHOVE FITNESS INTO MY DAY? This book debunks the no time whine (creativity) & also reminds us never to listen to those who may scoff at our nontraditional methods (PLAYOUTS not “workouts” anyone?)
  • The Sneeches What I learned: Dont waste time, energy (or money) worrying about what anyone else is doing! Everyone joining a certain blog challenge? Training for a marathon & you cant run a mile? WHO CARES. Focus on your own belly (literally & figuratively!) who cares what others are sporting on theirs.
  • Pale Green Pants (AKA What was I Scared of? ) What I learned: Embrace fear. When we expose what we fear to the light of day 99.9% of the time we realize that there was nothing to fear in the first place! All fears. From fears of weight training (what if the guys at the gym laugh at me!) to ZUMBA (what if I look like a fool or if I cant get it?!) When examined many of our fears are pretty misplaced and we CAN CONQUER if we give ourselves the chance and take that first step.
  • Horton Hatches the Egg What I learned: The importance of COMMITTING and not QUITTING. Period. No matter what. And a reminder about service being the rent we pay for living. That helping others when they may not be ready, willing, or able to help themselves (heck, or even appreciative). Sit on their egg for them if need be and if nothing else youll get a fab helpers high.
  • Oh, the places you’ll go! What I learned: Avoidance does not work. We need to ‘face down our problems‘ as Seuss says. It’s only through feeling negative emotions we can work THROUGH and PAST THEM with minimal destructive behavior (be that behavior quitting working out, blowing our “diet,” binging or WHATEVER). Dont think these dark times wont happen to you. They will. For sure. They happen to all of us & getting off our healthy living path and BACK ON is all part of the journey.

So there you have it.

How Suess shaped my fitness life and a reminder to CELEBRATE.

We certainly are.

Wanna share *your* fave Seuss book or quote?

Long to join us for green eggs and Morningstar sausages ham?

Are you, too, making a pink clover to accompany the Horton image on my bumbum lower hip?

Please to RHYME US all up in the comments below.

 

photo courtesy of JoniBee Photography.

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Comments

  2. I didn’t know today was Dr Seuss’ birthday!

    I will whip up some green fried eggs for my girls, too.

  4. Love it! (Sorry, but it’s too early in the morning for me to be thinking of rhymes. haha)

    My mom used to read me these growing up, and now she reads them to her 8th grade students. I find her choices appropriate: The Sneeches mid-year and Oh The Places You’ll Go before they leave for high school.

  5. I love Dr Seuss.
    I like him more than a moose.
    I could read him every day.
    Thiss comment sucks. I’ll go away.

    LOL

    Fun post, Miz.

  7. My whole preschool class is celebrating today.

    I need a hat to teach in—may I borrow one?? 🙂

    Happy Friday, Mizzy.

  8. No time to rhyme but I’ll be reciting Seuss in my head — and perhaps out loud — as I go on my run today. And I do not love to run in the hot, hot sun!

  13. Awesome! You are so right that I am lucky to be able to exercise. I need to repeat that over and over and do it! Thank you.

  20. One of my favorite Seuss inspirations – (and this is from memory so apologies if I misquote) – “you do not like them, so you say, try them, try them, and you may.” And we all know how that ends:)

    My teen was a senior speaker at his class day last may and he drew his inspiration from “Oh the place you’ll go.” And I’m pretty sure we never even read him that one!

  24. You wrote this for me
    How thoughtful of you
    Each quote was appropriate
    Not just one or two
    Fitness is now such a part of my life
    I have you to thank
    With my drum and my fife.
    How can I thank you for making it real
    You gave me a spark
    Instilled in me zeal.
    So this is my rhyme
    I send it to you,
    And I hope we stay homies
    Till three thousand and two!

  28. love this! My favorite Dr. Seuss quote is on one of my pinterest boards: Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.

    Thanks for your comment on my vlog, I’m already working on my second : )

  30. Happy birthday Dr. Suess,
    those are awesome hats!
    Love that you’re in Austin,
    what a great city is that! 🙂

  31. Pale green pants is one of my favorites! It used to really scare me, then I wanted to find green pants of my own.

  35. Suess inspired greatness
    With warmth and with wit
    One great example?
    The Shining MizFit!

    Loved your tribute, and it made me realize that I’m still learning some of these simple lessons 50 years later. Gotta read me more Suess, ASAP!

  36. Oh man, I just had to clean up my morning coffee that was spilled all over the floor so I can’t rhyme worth a darn. Your lessons and advice are the best (as always). I need to embrace fear today and keep working my butt off to see where it will lead. I wish we lived closer so I could stalk you around town. He he.

  37. Great poetic tribute, reminders (you had me at the first one) and photos…

    @Crabby McSlacker You’re not slackin’ on the poetry either.

  38. When my youngest brother was teeny, tiny, we had a record with 2 Seuss books on it. I do not know what was one side -the side we always played The Sleep Book.

    Every evening throughout a summer, you could hear the World of Seuss falling asleep at the same time we put our brother to bed. The sun would be setting, the rooms turning dusky, then dark. And these rhymes and yawns would ease us all into the evening.

  43. Everytime I read your 6 things
    New inspiration it surely brings
    Dr. Seuss was surely wise
    So Miz put his pictures upon her thighs
    To remind of lessons learned
    And perhaps a new leaf turned
    Life can be a lot of fun
    Playouts outside in the sun
    Growing, learning, stretching yay
    Everyday should be a Seuss birthday!

    …that’s all I got. Happy Seuss day! =)

  46. This is the ultimate Mizfit holiday! I love it! It is fun seeing a little bit into the story (stories?) behind your leg tat. For myself I think that the Lorax was always my fave Dr. Seuss story but I probably ought to have paid more attention to the Sneeches… so much left to learn from the good doctor:)

  47. Every tattoo post is my favorite. LOVE it! My kids had Dr. Seuss week….each day was something different – like Wacky Wednesday and wear red and white day.

  48. I love this post! I love your 6 things as always! I love all you have to share including the wonderful pics! I think your leg looks awesome! 🙂

    LOVE!

  49. I know this was a fun post, but there was the other side for me,too. I was touched especially by what you said in “Horton Hatches The Egg”, and “Oh, The Places You’ll Go”.

    Sitting on someone else’s egg when they are not ready, willing or able… if we would always remember how it felt when it was OUR turn to struggle, I think we’d always have that compassion for others, and not judge harshly.

    I’m in the process of getting back on that healthy path. Dr Seuss has such wisdom in his little stories! Thanks for sharing this. I loved it!

  50. I LOVE these lessons. I hadn’t heard of Dr Seuss until I was a grown-up… maybe not a big thing here in Oz, though I know my niece had lots of Seuss books.

    And, even though I don’t know the stories… the lessons REALLY make sense anyway!

    Deb

  51. From here to there, from there to here funny things are everywhere!

    Love how you turned Dr Seuss into fitness related topic! You rock!

  52. I love Dr.Seuss! We somehow had given all the young adult’s Dr. Seuss books away (not sure how exactly that happened!), so we had to re-buy them all for the toddler!

    There are so many favorites, but Oh The Places You’ll Go has always been especially special to me!

  53. Love this! Like everyone else I know, I grew up on his books. Green Eggs and Ham was always a favorite of mine 🙂 I really like how you turned his stories into life lessons; that was the point all along, right? Thanks!

  54. I LOVE Dr. Seuss. My favorites when I was little were “Hop on Pop” and “Green Eggs and Ham”. Love Horton hears a Who too….but once I saw a stand up comedian talk about “Horton hires a Ho” and though funny….tends to cloud my memory of Horton!! 🙂 Oh dear, I’m suddenly thinking to myself “hop, hop, hop on pop. Hop on top of Pop”. Oh dear… Have a great weekend Miz!!

  57. I have been writing with much prose and rhyme
    But addictions and habits give us a hard time.
    They beat us and treat us with pain all too often,
    They curse us and the worst is, the regrets do not soften.
    Yet even as the battle of sloth and health
    Is depleting your will and reserve of wealth,
    A gold piece of knowledge, the nuggets we dig:
    A person’s a person, no matter how big!

    We all are together in this fitness fight.
    We all have opinions, some more wrong than right.
    Yet with all of the struggles to find our own way
    Each of us looking to see what holds sway.
    Now is the season, now is the time
    No matter our difference, no matter our climb
    To see our sameness, whether tree trunk or twig
    A person’s a person, no matter how big!

  58. Today you are you that is truer that true. There is no one alive that is Youer that YOU!

    Be You in everything you do.

    This was an incredible post. Thank you for sharing it!

  59. oh miz, you make me smile! i like the OH THE PLACES we WILL GO. My favorite line, my favorite application! thanks dr. suess and YOU!

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