MLK

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I hope that one day, this will be true. More than 40 years after these words were uttered, I still hear of people being discriminated against. For the color of their skin, their gender, their sexual orientation. People hurting each other for no real reason except that they are scared at what is perceived as different. Something that they don't know or understand.

When we went to Washington D.C. in 2008, I stood on the spot where Martin Luther King stood when he gave his speech. It gave me little chills, to know that in that very spot, a good man tried to change the world. I took Annabelle to that spot, hoping that she would soak in how I felt to be there. It may have been a silly thing, to have my almost two year old, absorb the power that I felt coming through the steps of the Lincoln Memorial but I did it anyways. I tried to explain how important it was to be there and to be strong and brave and good. I know she doesn't remember it, but I do. That it was important for me to let her know how lucky she is to live here but that there is still so much work to do.

This is the spot at the Lincoln Memorial where MLK did his speech.

Annabelle has learned all about Martin Luther King Jr. during the past week. Well, as much as a four year old can understand. They talked about his dream and about what they could dream of to make the world a better place. They wrote their dreams onto clouds and hung them from the ceiling in her classroom. Annabelle's cloud said, "I have a dream... that we share." That says a lot right there. One little thing that people can do to make their little piece of the world a better place. And even though I realize she is talking about toys or crayons, I hope that I little piece of her subconscious remembers that moment on the steps. That I have helped her learn a small piece of history through osmosis.