Learning

Ah the weekend has come and gone. Gratefully, this silly thing I call my body decided only to start defying orders to "Don't fall sick now" only on Sunday evening - which meant that I had a grand weekend with Lydia and Luke.

I'm trying to get them to move away from picture books to word-based books. It's an up-hill climb I tell ya but if it works then Yeay and Hooray for me! As I cuddled up with my latest book, Bone China on the carpet, Luke had his new set of Winnie-The-Pooh books (bought for only RM 24.90 from Bookxcess!!) and Lydia her High School Musical series.

As it was 9/11 weekend, the telly was also full of documentaries and war-type movies. We caught the commemoration ceremony on CNN on Friday, following it with Black Hawk Down.

But yesterday, we took it a step further. For there was a documentary on the History Channel entitled: 102 minutes that changed America. It of course came with a viewer discretion warning which I in-turn relayed it on to Lydia and Luke. Lydia decided it would give her nightmares. So did Luke actually, but he was too intrigued by what he saw on Friday night, he decided to risk it.

Now, it may not have been have graphic as the movie World Trace Centre and of course, 8 years on, we have seen the slamming and dust-cloud images too many times to experience an acute sense of despair and pain. But to a 6 year old, who was trying to remember where he was when it happened (most likely in heaven as an angel still was his answer) - it was quite a gripping afternoon.

Okay - I may be chastised for allowing Luke to see something such as this. I had doubts myself. But knowing him, he would be bugged not knowing the whos, the whys, the hows, etc so it was a risk worth taking.

Did he actually understand any of the 102 minutes? I'm pretty sure he did. Will he remember it? I'm also pretty sure he would. Simply because at the end of the show, as the 2nd tower fell, he snuggled up to me on the couch and said "Mummy, I'm feeling sad. Sad because a bad man did all this and killed so many people. And because of that, so many people are fighting wars now."

I hope that he remembers that documentary, that moment and that feeling. Because if he does, I know my son would never then be able to find it in him to do damage - to the world around him.

And I hope I remember that documentary, that moment and those words. Because if I do, I know I would always fight to be child-like in my thinking.