Tiny Tales Thursday...

I love watching all the awards shows - I used to be a total award season junkie and clear my calendar for every single one of them. I'd make my predictions and celebrate the wins as if I was getting a prize for being correct. The past few years, this tiny addiction has subsided really because who has time to watch all these shows with three kids? Ha! Well, and we got rid of cable for a few years so there was nothing to watch.

Fast forward to this past Sunday, we now have a few channels and we happened to turn on the TV right as the Oscars started. I almost turned it off but then I remembered it was my birthday and I'd watch any show I wanted. To heck with these kids. ;)

Radley curled up next to me and asked me what the Oscars were. I explained that the people that make movies can win awards for all the work they do - everything the from the writers, to the sound techs, to the actors themselves - and that this was the biggest award to earn. He was pretty interested so we began watching and then Chris Rock started with his opening monologue.

Now, I had a great weekend with lots of happy moments, but I'd say that my favorite moment of the weekend was when Radley asked me about some of that dialogue during the Oscars, because he didn't understand what was being said. He actually asked, "what does he mean by 'black'?". Taking the time to turn off the show, look him in the face and talk to him about his privilege and more importantly his responsibility to use that privilege for the betterment of his community and our world was a gift. I honestly had no idea what I was going to say until I started to speak, but the words that matter never come from me anyway and I am sure that God was guiding my speech. I explained that we all have the responsibility to use whatever privileges we are given - whether that be your race, your religion, your orientation... privileges aren't limited to one type of person and we each have the responsibility to work towards a world that recognizes and celebrates what make us each unique.

It took all of four minutes and I spoke in terms that an 8 year old could understand. But that's all it takes to open a door. Meeting people where they are, helping them understand others and praying that we are one step closer to a world where everyone feels love.