Light vs Dark

Well, I walked every day last week during lunch at work (15 minutes each day), and on Friday I went straight to the park and walked for 20 minutes after taking Tate to school.  On Sunday, Tate and I rode our bikes down to Mile 22 to watch the marathoners running which included my sister!   So I was very proud of myself for being active 6 out of 7 days!!  In addition, I didn't buy lunch one day at work;  I made my little sandwich and ate my chips every day.  Plus I ate breakfast everyday....that was huge for me!

Today I was a bit of a downer and didn't go walking...the long, crazy morning at work got to me, we didn't get done until almost 12:30 and I was just exhausted.  But I did drink my water!  After I went back to patients, I realized I missed getting out of the office and moving...who knew?

Tate had today, MLK Day, off from school.  He spent the night last night with my parents, so they could keep him today.  My parents actually met us to go cheer Lindsey on during the marathon.  We love getting to see her for all of 10 seconds when she runs past us at mile 22.

And today was the day to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  To remember all he did in the short time he was on this earth to fight against racial inequality and injustice.  Tate surprised me and read his book about Dr. King while at my parents' today.  We don't talk often about racism and racial inequality in our home, though we have discussed it.  Tate knows we're black, he knows we've had to fight to get to where we are today and he knows we have a very very long way to go until every single person in this world understands that we are all God's children, that we are all the same and deserving of the same equal treatment and rights.   That's another one of my goals this year...to help Tate garner an understanding of who his people are, his black people.   I need him to hear from my parents' mouths what they went through in the 40s and 50s and 60s sitting in the back of the bus, drinking from colored water fountains, going to segregated schools, being called names, going to the black hospital.  My parents who are from Alabama! and Virginia are a fount of information of the hostile lives they lived 60 short years ago.  Tate needs to hear it from them.

I had Tate listen to Dr. King's 'I Have a Dream' speech in almost its entirety last week, and when it was over he said "Was he a president?  He should have been a president."

As this day that has started the week comes to a close I'm reflecting on the fact that this week will end with the inauguration of a man who is the absolute antithesis of Dr. King.  I really can't even bring myself to write about it, think about it or acknowledge what I feel about it.  It's almost as if I don't say it out loud, maybe it won't really be true.  

Light and Darkness.  This week is starting out with so much light and I fear the darkness that is coming.  However I need to remember...

'Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that...'
                                                 Martin Luther King, Jr.

There's alot of light in this world.  Beginning with me and my son.  I intend for us to be that light.