My daughter goes to Abraham Lincoln School here in Monroe and, as expected, learns all she can about the 16th president. She is enamored by the stories of his childhood, adolescence, and the years leading up to his presidency. Regaling me with trivia and stories of Lincoln, she has developed a real appreciation of history, much to my excitement. As a result, I wanted to try and connect her with an experience that she would hopefully remember and appreciate. She was invited to stand in as a flower girl this weekend for her cousin's wedding (one that she adores, but that may be a post for a later date) in Jefferson City, MO. While our trip down took us on back roads and more of a direct route, I decided to drive a little bit out of our way on the trip home to bring the history to life. Coming into Springfield, Illinois, I drove into the Oak Ridge Cemetery where his magnificent tomb is settled. She was pretty amazed when we saw the outside, but once we walked into the tomb, she was taken aback by how close she felt to him. I was worried, as a parent, that I would have to remind her to be respectful and keep her voice down, but she immediately realized the gravity of where she was. Reverently, she made her way around his tomb and spent a few minutes looking at his monument, along with taking a little time to look at the graves of Mary Lincoln and their children. While the child in the photo is not mine, I thought that she was showing the same type of respect my daughter was. I'm glad I got to both share this experience with her as well as witnessing her be able to be close to the history that she is learning.
No comments:
Post a Comment