Happy Birthday, Thomas Alva

I never did a day’s work in my life.
It was all fun.

-Thomas Edison

Happy birthday Thomas Edison!

I read a biography of Thomas Alva Edison recently that suggested that, had he been brought up in today’s environment, he would have been quickly diagnosed with ADHD for his ever-shifting focus.

Remember, this is the man who said “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” By all accounts, statements like that were not an exaggeration. He slept only four or five hours a night and believed good things came to him who “hustles while he waits…” Imagine what that must have been like to live with.

I read yesterday that ADHD has been linked to measurably heightened creativity levels in young adults. They’re better at thinking outside the box; they “like generating ideas, but are not good about completing the tasks.”

I wonder often if by medicating our ADHD kids, our obsessive-compulsives, our manic-depressives, we better their individual day-to-day experiences but hamper their abilities to create great things. Inventions and art that better us all as human beings.

Will we ever have any more Da Vincis, Edisons, Franklins, Doestoevskys? Will an eccentric like Theodore Roosevelt ever be allowed to lead a Boy Scout troop, let alone a nation?

Just a thought. The line between genius and madness is a favorite topic of mine.

In any event, I am humbled by the idea that Thomas Edison managed to do so much with the time he had at hand— it inspires me to set aside my own excuses. Edison had six kids and the same allotment of 24 hours a day, seven days a week, that we are all given. He brought light to the masses. He changed the world.

I guess it helps when you approach every day as fun 🙂

In Edison’s honor, an assortment of photos to remind me how much fun parenting can be.

Have a great weekend!