“Mom, is today a school day?”
“Well, no, even though it’s Monday, there isn’t school today. Today a special day, a holiday. So we get to spend the day together instead of going to school and work.”
“Is it Christmas? I love Christmas.”
“Ha ha. No, not Christmas again. You have a while to wait for Christmas.”
“Then what is it?”
“It’s a special day to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.”
“Who was that man?”
Oh gosh, how do I distill everything about Dr. King into one toddler-sized sound bite? How do I convey the enormity of his legacy and the power of his words and actions? How do I tell them how important his life was?
“As you grow up, you’re going to learn so much more about Dr. King because he was such an important person in the history of the United States. But for now, the most important thing to know about him is that he spent his time helping people to understand and love each other.”
“He sounds like a good man. I like him.”
“He was a very good man and he worked very hard. We can help him by being kind to everyone.”
“Everyone?”
“Everyone.”
Photo credit: Elaine LeSage (thanks mom!)