history in the past and in the making

I toted my camera along with me today, snapping photos of our new 10 inches of snow, the boys studying geography under the covers while I was out doing chores this morning, cavorting down the hall during our new adventure circle, and baking bread this afternoon, fully intending on documenting and posting about our triumphant return to schoolwork today. Then I sat down this evening to discover that I didn't have my memory card in the camera. Danged camera, you'd think it would be smart enough to let me know that all those great pictures I was taking were going nowhere!

But anyway.

This morning Zoo Boy woke up to a cleverly folded little stand-up paper sign created by J, which said "Good Morning and Happy M.L.K. Jr Day". Zoo Boy read it, and immediately asked "What do we do on Martin Luther King Jr day"? Both boys turned their attention on me. Tempted to provide them with more information than they are developmentally prepared to handle, I reined myself in and answered simply, "We remember an important man who had a wonderful dream." "Martin Luther King, Jr?" J asked. I nodded. It was all they needed -- all they could understand right now. In years to come, we will study the man and his life and times, and read his inspiring words. Plenty of time for that.

But what about history in the making? The history of OUR times?

It's tempting to provide more information than the kids are ready to process. Understanding WHY this is such a big deal in the history of our country depends a great deal on understanding where it is that we came from. And I just don't think it's in my young children's best interest to know the darker parts of our history just yet. So while I have a burning desire for my boys to be a part of this, to have that understanding, it's just not the right time for them to be made THAT socially aware.

So we'll have the TV on mid-day tomorrow, a great rarity in this house. And I will allow my kids to experience this bit of history on whatever level they are able to. I will save the analyzing, the details, for future study, when they are old enough to truly understand the history of our country and all the twists and turns in the road to get here, to this place. They've already picked up from the climate around this house that this is an important event, something that their parents are thrilled about, and they are every bit as excited to watch our new President sworn into office as we are. For now, it is enough.