LESSONS FROM RABBIT AND POOH By Sue Dickinson
copyright 2003
The other day my son was watching Winnie the Pooh on Disney, and I found myself riveted. In this particular episode, the Rabbit somehow lost track of a whole day and thought it was Saturday when it was actually Friday. He freaked out—trying to get everything done that he had on his to-do list for FridayandSaturday all in one day. He was racing around at a hundred miles an hour singing a crazy song about everything that needed to be done.
My son laughed at the music and the Rabbit’s funny antics. I almost cried.
The episode was obviously written by a harried mom. I can just picture her. Sitting in her cube; hoping desperately for a shred of inspiration to complete the Winnie the Pooh writing project due yesterday. Her family has been laid up with colds for the past two days, and she’s missed a work-day to stay home and care for them. Her in-box is overflowing; her e-mail box full. She has unanswered voice mail messages from her boss about the late assignment and her dentist about the unscheduled cleanings she’d been putting off for weeks. The house is a mess, the in-laws are due for a visit that weekend, there’s no food in the refrigerator except some leftover canned chicken soup, the laundry is piling up and her head throbs with the responsibility.
Like a cartoon, Rabbit appears in a bubble on her right shoulder. “Think,” he urges.“Surely you can come up with something…hurry – it was due YESTERDAY.”
She turns away, and Winnie the Pooh materializes on her left shoulder.“It’s okay, you did the right thing. Your family needed you, you did what you needed to. You will complete this assignment. Things will be fine.”Pooh assures her.
“NO!” yells Rabbit. “You’ve lost a whole day!!! ‘Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today’ – now see what you’ve done!!!”
“Calm down,”counsels Pooh.“Take a deep breath, maybe have some tea. It will be alright.”
“TEA!!!! How can you possibly think of tea at a time like this??? You have a DEADLINE!!! As in you are DEAD if you don’t get busy and tow the LINE right now!!!”
Unable to stand anymore, the poor, desperate woman lets out a primal scream, pushes her chair back from her cube, scoops both Rabbit and Pooh off her shoulders, wads them up like a piece of paper and flings them across the room. She races blindly down the hall, frantically searching for an answer. Collapsing in tears in the one place a woman can be a woman in the work world today (the lady’s bathroom, of course), she feels a gentle touch on her shoulder.“How can I help?”she hears.
Did I mention how the Winnie the Pooh episode ends? Rabbit is so desperate to complete his chores single handedly that he practically has a heart attack trying. Winnie the Pooh and friends show up, discover the problem, and chip in to get the work done together. Rabbit realizes he reallydidn’tlose a day after all, leaving all of Saturday to do whatever he wants. The scene fades as Rabbit, Pooh and the gang relax together under a tree (and yes, I think I even spied a teapot there).
The moral of the story (if I haven’t been obvious enough): You don’t have to do it alone. The world won’t fall to pieces around you. Take a day of rest. Tea cures a lot that ails you. The lady’s bathroom will always be a haven. Oh, and of course the most important…“What can I do to help?”
Sue Dickinson is the author of What’s a Mom to Do? Overcoming the Urge to Put Your Life on Hold and the creator of www.UnlimitedMom.com, designed to celebrate the many facets of Mom. Because when you recognize them all, your possibilities are unlimited! Contact Sue atSue@UnlimitedMom.comor visithttp://www.UnlimitedMom.com
