23 September 2026, Freewriters Community Daily Writing Prompt Day 3235: failure is a success

“OK, so there is a way that every failure is a success if you keep learning, but by the time you are 16, what you start to learn is, there's a lot of ways to fail and it starts getting expensive.”

Tom Stepforth III was breaking down the facts of life to his nine-year-old cousin Milton Trent and Milton's best friend nine-year-old George Ludlow.

“Can you give us like a ballpark figure of what the numbers are?” George said. “I mean, how many ways are there to fail?”

“Actually, I want to know this too,” Mrs. Melissa Trent, Milton's mom and Tom's aunt, said as she came over with a smile.

“Actually, Aunt Melissa, I'm glad you're here because I probably don't have enough high math to answer this,” Tom said. “You need calculus to even try to get an estimation.”

“It's that bad?” Milton said. “There's that many ways to fail anything?”

“Well, most things, anyhow, and as you get older, it gets worse,” Tom said.

“So, why calculus, though?” George said. “I don't know what it is but it sounds like a lot.”

“OK,” Mrs. Trent said, “so there's math for when you know what the numbers are, and there's math for when you know how to deal with what you can't know about – variables and such – and then there's math for when you have bigger things to calculate than you really can individually because they are sets of big counts or big counts of a bunch of operations, and that's calculus.”

“Oh, I get it-- never mind, ain't nobody got time,” Milton said. “This is why we should just listen to what our parents tell us, because by the time you need different kinds of math to figure out how to fail your way to success – life is getting way too hard.”

“Well, this isn't true of everything, though,” Tom said. “Like, if you need to learn to do something new or invent something new, you have to fail your way to success because there's no blueprint.”

“Is this why – see, I understand why Grayson is upset about buildings falling over in this county,” George said. “All folks have to do is follow instructions on how to build stuff right, and humans have been building stuff that has stood up well for a long, long time.”

“Sometimes, following instructions really saves a lot of trouble,” Tom said. “Don't be like me: don't blow up your kitchen and need to apply for asylum with Capt. Hamilton in fear of your life before you get it, cousin Milton and cousin-friend George. Really listen to Aunt Melissa and Uncle Vincent, cousin, and George, listen to your grandparents. I just now paid off the kitchen and can actually go home – don't be out here basically in exile over trying to fail your way to some fried chicken. And like, really start reading your Bible with the mind that you are going to learn how to get it right be reading and understanding and obeying. I'm in both Rev. Obsidian Stone's Bible Study online and also I'm doing Col. Lee's Bible Study for veterans with Dad and Uncle Vincent.”

“But you're not a veteran,” Milton said.

“Col. Lee makes an exception for veterans' children at 16-plus,” Tom said. “I mean, it is deep stuff, but the colonel is that one guy who can kill you in a G-Rated way, so he teaches really deep Bible in a way that is real but still safe for civilians who know military from a family experience. But the main thing is, I'm up in there making sure Dad is learning and growing too so I ain't gotta be in fear of my life!”

“Reconnaissance,” Mrs. Trent said, with a smile.

“Yep,” Tom said. “I just need about another month to be sure – but yeah, Milton and George, ain't no need with either of your fathers to live in fear of your life, and Milton, your other grandmother is a Jubilee-of-the-mountain born, too.”

“Oh yeah,” Milton said.

“I need y'all to get your lives together,” Tom said. “You ain't gotta fail your way to success, and like I said, it can get really expensive, really quick! It's just easier to do the right thing when you can, and you can because you are being told!”

Milton and George looked at each other.

“This was deep, Tom, and Mom,” Milton said.

“Really eye-opening,” George said.

“We need to go sit in the Lees' puzzle room and just put things together for a minute,” Milton said, and the two boys went to their neighbors' home to do what Milton said.

“How long do you think they are going to remember?” Mrs. Trent said to Tom.

“It probably won't even kick in for a few years,” Tom said with a sigh. “Sometimes, we boys just need to do our calculus, survive it, and then get it.”

Mrs. Trent smiled.

“Adults are doing it too,” she said. “What you learn about God is, He's a good Father. He gives us time. But you also learn; it's expensive to be slow to learn, and, you don't have as much time as you think you do, so, you told Milton and George the right thing.”

Tom considered this.

“I think I'm going to bring this up in Col. Lee's Bible Study today,” he said.

“Sounds like a plan,” Mrs. Trent said. “Keep learning, Tom. You're 16 and you're way ahead of most of us adults. Stay on the path!”