Yesterday as Ayden ate her after school snack we chatted about the day. She mentioned to me that her teacher had read Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. I remembered this book from my childhood and how sad the book made me feel so I was very interested to hear her thoughts.
Ayden seemed to be intrigued by Sadako's story. The story led us into a discussion about the death and destruction of war, the atom bomb, radiation and the Fukushima Nuclear Plant. In the middle of our conversation I started crying. It was Ayden's comment about Sadako's belief that if she made 1,000 paper cranes she could make a wish to no longer be ill. Even though I knew this from having read the book myself, there was something about how Ayden said those words that overwhelmed me. Her voice was so sweet and so innocent.
I could not stop thinking about the pain that Sadako's mother must have felt (Not to diminish the physical and emotioanl pain that Sadako endured). The anguish of losing a child. The senseless death that comes with war. My heart broke for every mother who had ever lost a child for any reason. The countless wishes made by mothers who came before Sadao's mother and all those after. I stood silently and cried. Unable to understand my emotions my child put her arms around me and gave me a big, long hug then said to me, "Everything will be okay Mommy."
