As we drove down the street to pick up a friend from work, several emergency vehicles raced in the opposite direction, sirens blaring. The headlines explained what we were wondering and left me doubting if my next move was the right one to take. But I took it, still wondering. I explained to my sunshine that there were a lot of people in our city causing a lot of problems because they don’t like black people (yes, I know it’s more complicated than that, but she’s a bright eyed CHILD and I’m a shaky adult). She simply said, “Don’t they know that we’re all beautiful?”
As we drove home, the sirens were accompanied by the sound of helicopters overhead and shortly thereafter a steady rain. When we got home, she played with her beautiful dolls, a pipsqueak community of inanimate girls/women of all shades. Their entry into our home came with no fanfare, they are simply her “friends.”
She’s home safe with me while we wait for her daddy to get back from taking our friend home. She doesn’t know enough to be concerned that he’s not here. Or maybe she knows better than me that he’ll be ok. Either way, she’s currently singing a song, very loudly and somewhat off key with exaggerated vibrato punctuated by some seriously offbeat moves about the letter M. It’s gray outside and eerily quiet around our house but I’m blessed because she is my sunshine in this city today and my hope that she’ll continue to rally “friends” with the same sweetness and love in the future.
UPDATE: As the night wears on, the news that three people have died in the midst of this horrid nightmare is devastating. If you’re reading this, please take a moment to pray for the families and loved ones who aren’t able to report that someone precious made it home safely today.
We love you, friends.
Derick, Ouida, and Selah
An Amazing Kid Co. 