Martin Luther King Jr.

Tonight in Elle's prayer she said, "...and thank you for Martin Luther King Jr. Thank you for helping him be brave so he could change the world." I opened my eyes at that moment and saw her smiling from ear to ear, knowing that this man made an incredible difference in her life. Most of Elle's friends are of different ethnicities. She can't comprehend life with segregation. Her belief in others, regardless of their skin color or gender, amazes me.

(You should also know that she is my most thoughtful prayer giver--lest you think all my kids are as eloquent in their prayers. Not so.)

But her words reflected a short history lesson I gave to the kids this afternoon after I put Timmy down for his nap. They begged me for a movie and popcorn (because today was in the negative temps outside), and I told them that they could have their movie only after we took a moment to discuss why they had the day off school.

It was an insightful discussion. We talked about segregation, and I showed them pictures of what that looked like. Mya taught the girls about Rosa Parks. And I read a book about Martin Luther King Jr. After we talked about the results of Martin Luther King Jr.'s life and movement, the girls said, "Mom, we are so glad he never gave up because now our friends AJ and Ali can come play at our house from time to time, and that would never have been allowed before." AJ and Ali are children of an interracial marriage of good friends of ours. They are the most beautiful children, and we adore their parents.

I hadn't really thought about that, but my girls are right. We can list dozens of friends that wouldn't be friends if it wasn't for all the men and women that believed in equality and love--with a large emphasis on love.

And do you want to know what I think is really beautiful--my kids don't see people as black and white. They see people as peach, darker peach, tan, light brown and dark brown. Elle asked me today why we even call people black, and I explained it in the best way I could. If only everyone could see others the way kids do...