Who's "cool?"

My oldest, Eva, has been on a bit of a "cool" kick.  If it seems like it's cool, she wants to be a part of it.  In choosing her first Bible this week-- it was about which looked the "coolest," which apparently means teal and purple.    Her hair this morning for church... well, you get the idea.  This isn't a unique feature of childhood in our culture.  We're saturated with the notion that the most powerful thing you can do is become a very "cool" entertainer, perhaps instead of doing something of substance and lasting value.  As much as our girls are tiny, and don't watch media that suggests this... somehow they have gathered this idea.  This is the culture we call our own.

As I was perusing pictures from the last month, I came across a ton from Martin Luther King Jr. day.  Daddy was off work, and we had the opportunity to talk to the girls about people who really make a difference.  We spent time talking with them (at an age-appropriate level) about the history of inequality in our country--how people of lighter skin somehow thought they were worth more than people with darker skin.  This in and of itself is shocking to our girls, as we're a family with a few different variations in our skin tones (yay!).   We shared with them that Dr. King was brave in helping people make the right choice, and to help teach others to value everyone, regardless of the color of their skin.  We started the day at the mall, no shopping, but of serving with a number of organizations... making cards for servicemen and women, and making scarves and blankets for the homeless.

We then headed over to the local fire station.  We have recently made a new friend with a fire fighter from our local station.  He walked us around, gave the girls' a close-up view of what the fire truck looks like, and how they handle an emergency. 

 Of course, we accidentally left one of our phones in the parking lot that day. (I won't mention who's phone it was...but his picture is to the left... ahem...  ). The next morning, our friend came by, sleepy-eyed and somewhat dazed, to drop it off before he went on home.  He shared that the night before, they pulled two out of a fire, resuscitated them, and saved their lives.  All in a night's work.

 So... its all I can do to stress to our girls from a young age that these are the real "cool" ones.  The ones that step out when someone is treated unfairly. The one's who give time and resources and effort to make those who are out in the cold, a little warmer.  The ones who pull others out of burning buildings, and save their lives, and go on unnoticed.  It's my prayer that I can model for my girls the true definition of what's desirable to be like-- that cool means that you can make a powerful difference in the world around you, without having to get all the attention.  

So, I guess for us-- school was in session that day.  That was such  good learning-- something no curriculum could ever cover.  Pretty cool.