MLK day

January 18 -- a Monday.  23 years ago, January 18th was also a Monday and it was the day that I lost my first baby.  We had discovered that there was no heartbeat the week before, but my body wasn't doing anything about it so we waited.  And waited.  Finally on Monday we went in and I had a D&C.  It was horrible.  And I think about it every year. And I was a senior in college and went to class the next day! Couldn't risk my straight A's for anything -- I was crazy. 

But it all turned out okay in the end, right?  Want to know something really freaky?  I had a dream a few nights ago that I had another baby... and Ella had one the same night!  And another dream the next night!  We are not having another baby, okay?  (Shaking my fists at the gods)

So it is Martin Luther King day.  The kids wanted to not do school, but I thought they should since we had such a tumultuous time the week we arrived.  I have a special spot in my heart for Dr. King.  When I was eight years old my father was in the Utah state legislature and we went to Atlanta for a convention.  One of the events included meeting Coretta Scott King!  And already being a complete nerd and history buff I was suitably awed by the encounter.  A couple of years ago we went to Washington D.C. for spring break and were able to see the new MLK monument -- if you haven't seen it, you should try to go.  It is really lovely and has a wonderful spirit about it.  I loved that you had to walk through a wall of rock to enter.  It is a great representation of the struggles that minorities still have in our country -- something that just blows my mind!  We're all God's children!  We're all brothers and sisters!  One of my goals is to be a better ally and raise my children to be more aware.  This evening we're going to have a family home evening lesson about racism and then watch Selma after the littles go to bed.

He said so many wonderful things, but here a few of my favorite quotes:

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."

"Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a better person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in."

"I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear."