Like me and you

One of Nicole's favorite songs is Raffi's, "Like Me and You," because it has the name of one of her cousins:

Janet lives in England, Pierre lives in France
Bonnie lives in Canada
Ahmed lives in Egypt, Moshe lives in Israel
Bruce lives in Australia

Ching lives in China, Olga lives in Russia
Ingrid lives in Germany
Gita lives in India, Pablo lives in Spain
José lives in Colombia

Chorus:
And each one is much like another
A child of a mother and a father
A very special son or daughter
A lot like me and you

Koji lives in Japan, Nina lives in Chile
Farida lives in Pakistan
Zosia lives in Poland, Manuel lives in Brazil
Maria lives in Italy

Kofi lives in Ghana, Rahim lives in Iran,
Rosa lives in Paraguay
And Meja lives in Kenya, Dimitri lives in Greece,
And Sue lives in America

Repeat Chorus


Well, Nicole was listening to this song a few minutes ago, and came to me crying with an unhappy frown and big, tearful eyes.  I asked her why she was sad.  Apparently remembering some of her education from me (I've taught her on occasion that some children don't have parents, or aren't treated well, and some children have poor living situations), she squeaked out that she was crying about the children in the song "because how their feelings are hurt and how they live."

While I don't want to burden a five-year-old with the problems of the world, I do want her to cultivate compassion and empathy, especially as she grows older.  I hugged her, and then told her that's one reason I want to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I believe that the gospel gives people and families tools to become better parents and individuals; it reminds us to value compassion; it teaches us to serve others; and it helps connect people to others to receive help.  I told her that her uncle is serving a mission in Costa Rica, and that he's helping some people who may need help.  I told her there are people in Utah that she can help.  If there are people with "hurt feelings," she can be kind to them and be friends with them.  We talked about ways we can help people in Utah, and about considering the feelings of our family members as well.

Nicole reported later that sharing helped her feel much better.