"Ellen Meets Macey Hensley"
Watch the video, then come back here.
Hilarious, isn't she?! So much fun!
But did you catch it? When she was little and most adults were looking at her cute face and then ignoring her, someone listened. Someone heard what she was saying, beyond the fact that it was cute or funny. And that someone chose to spend a little time and a little money to build into her life. I'm sure some other someones had to help her read what was on those cards and quiz her on what she learned, but it was that first someone that started it, that recognized the special interest Macey had in the presidents and decided to encourage her. That someone didn't buy into the cultural lie that children are all the same until they differentiate themselves as young adults. That someone could see Macey as a unique individual and chose to affirm her and to push her just a little bit deeper into that uniqueness.
Perhaps Macey will grow and maintain her spot as being more politically intelligent than her peers. Perhaps she'll be beaten down and normalized in a school system that caters to the lowest common denominator, teaches generalization and punishes specialization. Only God knows.
But as fun as Macey is, I'm more interested in the one who gave the gift of freedom to this tiny sprout of a person. In mind mind, it's the Grandma who's the hero.
