Sometimes...

Little Kamryn

with his

"purple swag on"

...

Olivia, Joan and I are having the best of times here in Maryland

with the temps

beautiful

even though last night

the drop was into the 30's

as we huddled on the couch

and explored the life of an 11 year old!

"giggle giggle"

is a phrase I tried to wrap my head around

as I gazed at my beautiful Olivia

who lives in the no pressure zone,

I have to laugh.

She has transformed into a child who looks older than 11

so when she shifts

in a conversation

to a reply of

"giggle-giggle"

I find my brain explodes in wonder!

I have to re-set

and remind myself she is only 11!

She now is keen to the news on

Trayvon Martin,

her school and friends are talking about it

and

no one understands it.

They do not see color

they do not understand "hatred/racial profiling", they have no words for the horrendous acts

and

truly do not understand how zimmerman is still a free man.

To hear the conversation

and

to engage her thoughts has been a lesson for me,

in a deeper understanding

through the lens of a child.

It makes me also wonder

the thoughts of Kamryn,

who is 10.

The thoughts of D'Vante who is 17

and graduating high school this year.

All three of my kids

are of color.

Olivia's word for zimmerman when I arrived was that he was a

"bum".

I found this interesting, curious that a word

so benign could be assigned to a man

of such a horrendous acts.

And then I had to again remember,

Olivia is 11, she is a child.

One who does not see color, does not judge people, and does not know hatred.

We talked about it more,

we read the definition of the word

"bum"

and then looked up other words for

"bad" or "awful things a person does".

We thought about it

and I could see her mind in action through the movement of her eyes.

She has now decided she likes the word

"sleazebag"

and that word fits better.

She likes the word

"atrocioius"

and thinks that word fits better.

...

I didn't like to have "the talk" with an 11 year old child; my child

of the wickedness that lives in a world.

To talk about the hatred that still resides in the hearts of some

and

things like racial profiling, color of people's skin

being the age old battles that originated with the

First Americans

and

Trayvon Martin

along with the stories that are now being woven to further make him out to be anything less than the victim of a gunshot wound

deliberately inflicted.

...

As we watched Sybrina Fulton, the mom

and

Tracy Martin the dad

on television

Olivia sad, that is just wrong and so sad

...

She then said,

"this is just wrong, and even if he was suspended who cares and what difference does it make?"

From the mouth of a babe,

truth is spoken.

...

Then it was time to talk about

dinner,

it was time to feed the pain and realities of the days conversation.

To talk about the sneaks that were being sent to her from Kamryn

that she is so tickled to receive in the mail.

Yep,

another thing Olivia and Kamryn have in common,

those kids do love to

EAT!

Here's the latest and greatest picture of

Kamryn

getting his grub on!

My boy loves him a

CHeeze-burger

even with his purple on!!!

Gotta EAT!

WE have to stand for the children,

Love is born into the children,

they are color blind,

the do not judge

they are able to dance in the rain,

play in the dirt,

run and learn

and

taste all that life has to offer.

It is our job, our joy, our responsibility

to nurture, nourish, teach, reach each one

with all our best tools,

while exploring and holding them UP.

It is up to us to empower them,

help them find their voices

in pursuing their dreams

and

teach them respect for all living things

while standing

for Justice, their rights and responsibilites

along the way.

Teach them well.

Help them to find the words that will suit them,

that will allow them to express what they want to say,

that will allow them to define

what they are trying to express

and

help them to remain alert and safe.

Olivia and I spent some time talking about self defense classes

and

she is actually thinking it might just be a good idea!

STAND FOR OUR CHILDREN,

they belong to all of us.

The sage is lit,

with prayers going up today

for all

who are standing, all who are needing some support in thoughts, for strength

and

just to know

you are being thought about.

Walk In Beauty,

DRSES

www.sherryeshowalter.com