Don’t give up before you even start. It is never ok to let the lack of knowledge prevent you from trying. Lack of knowledge is an opportunity to learn!

I’m going to take a break from all things time management today and share what I learned from my sweet little 3-headed dog.

Yup…you heard me…my 3-headed dog.

Back story: 

Every year, the 4^th grade at my daughter’s school has an all-out, epic, Harry Potter day.  The parents work tirelessly transforming the classroom into Hogwarts (and I mean a TOTAL transformation).  They spend the day in their “classes” of potions, care of magical creatures, wand making, practicing spells, playing quidditch, etc.  It is really over the top.

Part of the fun is that each child gets to dress up as any character they want from Harry Potter.  So, about 4 weeks ago, I asked Grace if she was going to wear her Hermione costume from 2 years ago (not gonna lie, she makes a REALLY cute Hermione).

Her response was, “No.  I’ve decided I want to go as Fluffy.”

If you are not a Harry Potter fan, Fluffy happens to be a 3-headed dog.  One body, 4 legs, but 3 heads.

Of course she wanted to go as Fluffy.  I replied, “AWESOME!!” (silly me… I assumed this would be easy!)

I pulled up Amazon Prime and searched for Fluffy or a 3-headed dog costume….nothing.

I went to Google images and searched on all the things…..nothing.

Now I’m starting to sweat.

Pinterest! Don’t fail me now Pinterest.  Nothing.  Apparently Pinterest moms are not working tirelessly on Fluffy costumes.

Sooo….now what? How the HECK do we make this work when I have nothing to copy from?

In our journey to create a 3 headed dog costume, here is what I learned:

1. Just because you don’t know how to do it doesn’t mean you can’t.
2. Just because it has never been done before doesn’t mean you can’t be the first to do it.
3. Sometimes you have to fail a LOT on the path to success. We tried 5 different approaches to make that 3 headed mask work before we found success.
4. Just because I am an adult does not mean my ideas are always better.
5. Fluffy is a kick-ass costume.

I’m not gonna lie to you…making that costume was not easy.  It was simple….but it wasn’t easy.  There were tears, there were meltdowns, people got angry and frustrated.  We had to take several time outs along the way.

BUT….we didn’t give up.  We kept at it.  And in the end……she had “the best day ever.”

Don’t give up before you even start, friends.  Don’t give up along the way.  When the going gets tough, remember your WHY.  It is ok to get angry and cry.  It is ok to get frustrated.  It is ok to pivot and go a different direction.

But, it is never ok to let the lack of knowledge prevent you from trying.  Lack of knowledge is an opportunity to learn!