After I picked Em up from school yesterday we discussed why she didn’t get to go to school on Monday.

E: Mama. You know why we don’t get to go to school Monday?
M: Um…why?
E: Well…

(I love that she starts all her “explanations” with a ‘well..’ – J. says she gets it from me. Well…I don’t know about that, but I do love it.)

E: ...There was this man who was a king. And there were bad people who were not nice. So the King told them that it didn’t matter what people look like or if they are different. We have to all just get along.
M: Mmmm hmmm.
E: And some people look different, like Denise. She has brown skin, but we have light skin. But we love her and she is like us, right Mama?
M: Yep. That’s right. I think it is just important to remember that everyone is different and that is what makes us all special, but we need to treat everyone how we want to be treated.
E: That is the big rule, right?
M: Yes, it is called the Golden Rule. Did you learn this today in school?
E: Yes. I’m just so sad I can’t go to school.
M: Well it is a holiday and on holidays schools, banks and some businesses are closed. But, Gracie, the man wasn’t a king…
E: Mom! Yes! He was a king!
M: His name was Martin Luther King, but he was not a king like you think of a king. It is his birthday, so we celebrate that.
E: Oh. Well…Happy Birthday, King!

We all just have to “get along.” So simple, huh?