When I worked in NYC I used to get mad that this day wasn't more respected and when I finally had a job where I had some 'pull' in the office I made sure we were closed for this day. Not sure if that really helps or if it just becomes another Monday off... but I like to do my part to respect the 'day' and particularly the MAN. My kids know very well who Martin Luther King, Jr. is and what he did for civil rights and for fairness in our country - and one of my favorite 'poems' is the "I Have a Dream" speech - so we read that every year.
Now that our kids are a bit older I was ASTONISHED one day when my son sat down with me to watch the news... during a commercial he got up and walked away and then he said "the news rocks..." and the biggest smile crossed my face. I must qualify I don't watch the regular news, so there is rarely anything bad - I don't know if I could handle watching the regular news every day, it's just a bit harsh. We watch MSNBC and I really love Chris Mathews... he's my favorite and when Hardball comes on, everyone in the house knows to quiet down (Rachel Maddow is a bit of a hero in my book as well, but sometimes I can't stay up that late). We also call The Weather Channel "the news" as well... which is a bit of an obsession for my husband, he is our weatherman (as well as his beloved BBC).
What I am getting at is that we can finally sit down together and watch the Public Television specials on Martin Luther King, Jr. - we sit down as a family and talk about what we are watching and get involved, you never know where the direction of questioning the kids is going to take. I enjoy it, I think it's important for the kids to be aware of the World around them both the past, the present and the FUTURE too....
Have a nice Martin Luther King Day and praise in his memory.
