From the backseat of the car I heard, “Mom, listen to this. ‘Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.’ That’s really good, huh?”
Yeah, it is. But I didn’t think much of it. I’ve heard it before.
Over the next couple of days, he repeated it over and over. When I reminded him to pack his lunch before bedtime, when he helped me plan our weekly menu and grocery list, and on the way to baseball practice he recognized the wisdom of the words and was struck by the cleverness of the phrase.
But I’d heard it before. I’ve seen it hand-lettered on chalkboards, spelled out on marquis, and posted on memes. And for that reason, I quit paying attention to it. We’ve reduced wisdom to fonts, Pinterest boards, and tattoos to the degree that their messages convey more trendiness than power.
Yet, wisdom endures. I may have become callous, but the nine-year old recognizes when he hears something that resonates with the truth of his experience.
It rings true.