Dear Friends,
When was the last time you celebrated a mistake? REALLY celebrated. Dance-around-the kitchen-throw-confetti-in-the-air-and-call-grandma celebrating…
“You learn from your mistakes” is a mantra that many of us as parents find ourselves repeating. Mistakes are interesting things, and we know that it’s good to let our kids make mistakes. And though we often say it when consoling a frustrated child, we know know from history that mistakes are actually wonderful opportunities! Opportunities to learn and grow and try something new. Thomas Edison failed over 1000 times before his light bulb was a success.
As part of the process for creating this show, I had the joy of interviewing kids about the “Beautiful Oops!” moments they experience when they are creating. I was overwhelmed by the wisdom young people possess. They described using a mistaken blotch of paint to make a new figure, adding on to geometric designs in new and unexpected patterns, and remembering the “show must go on” no matter what happens. As we rehearsed the show, we tried to remember these same themes, allowing the mistakes that happen in the room to inspire things that you’ll see on the stage today.
In my own home, I am also trying to apply these valuable lessons.
That “oops” should be a guiding path and not a pain point. Growing up is a slow and steady process that requiresmistakes. My two-year-old needs to spill the milk in order to learn how to use the big kid cup. But, the next time that milk spills, I’m faced with two choices: I can get annoyed with the mess and tell her to be more careful, or I can congratulate her on graduating to the big kid cup and learning that big kid cups spill. Oops.
Which option will we choose? I vote for the latter. Let’s look for the beautiful in EVERY oops. Because honestly, who wants to send their kid to college with a sippy cup?
Playfully,
Nina
