This past school year, during the spelling portion of Grace’s curriculum, we came across the word RIGHTS. We dove right in, sounding it out and memorizing the order of the letters. I quickly realized that Grace had no idea what the word meant so, I attempted to define it for her. I don’t know if it was my pregnancy hormones or the flood of childhood memories, but our spelling lesson took a turn. I shared with Grace a little bit about my American Story and Ale’s life in Cuba. I shared with her the story of Ale’s single pair of shoes and how his grandmother hand-washed them every night and set them out to dry at night so that he’d have clean shoes to wear. She asked me how many pairs of shoes I had growing up and I smiled and replied “two, one for school and one for church.”
I shared about the meaning of poverty, our family’s journey, the desire for the American dream, and the blessings that come from living in a country that protects the rights of its citizens.
Oh, it was a deeper lesson than I was planning for, but one that I am so grateful for.
This week we celebrate our freedom, a costly one indeed and the brave men and women who lay it all on the line for us. This week I also celebrate our parents. The ones who with bruised backs, weary arms and hope-filled eyes, led their families into this beautiful country. They didn’t know if we’d be welcomed, or separated upon entering. All they knew was that they desired a better tomorrow for their kids. Our immigrant parents are the reason we are able to have these conversations with Grace (the proud owner of 13 pairs of shoes) and the one who shares the rights that we have all fought so hard for.
Happy Fourth of July Friends!
This past weekend, we drove down to Lincoln, NE and visited our capitol building. We had an amazing time teaching the kids about our state laws and watching them run and bask in their freedom.
