From Oscar to Fred

Today is day eight of a 12-day work week and day four of me being a great big grumpy baby.  I have a strong desire to slap someone silly, and to suffer no consequences for doing so.  I am in such a unpleasant mood that I am chafing at my own company.

I started this post before I stumbled upon Mr. Rogers' 2002 commencement address at Dartmouth College.  Mr. Rogers' genuine goodness squashed my slappy impulses.  I have greatly admired Mr. Rogers for a long time; many of his statements resonate deeply with me.  You just cannot be grouchy when you absorb the wisdom and kindness of his words.  Here are a few favorites that helped turn my day around:

• “Love isn't a state of perfect caring. It is an active noun like struggle. To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now.” 

• “I believe that appreciation is a holy thing – that when we look for what's best in a person we happen to be with at the moment, we're doing what God does all the time. So in loving and appreciating our neighbor, we're participating in something sacred.” 

• “The connections we make in the course of a life – maybe that's what heaven is.”