The Little American

I own an American.  

Okay, maybe I don’t own one, but I have one in my home and I gave birth to her.  My youngest was born in OKC and we left the US right after her first birthday.  She doesn’t remember the US, which is a bit sad.  However, we talk about the States all the time in our home, so she’s heard a lot about it.  I have many close friends who are American - in fact, my best friends are American - so they have an influence as well.  The Little American receives packages and notes from many of them, and she’s fond of sending them audio messages and shout-outs on my PingChat! text app on my iPhone.

Anyway...

I feel some responsibility in raising a child who holds a birth certificate from another country.  Somewhere in the treasures I’ve squirreled away is a card from the Governor of Oklahoma welcoming her to the world, and another from George W. and Laura Bush, encouraging her to grow up and make a mark on the nation of her birth.  I know they churn these things out and send them off willy-nilly, but I still take it rather seriously.

So...

Now that The Little American is nearing her 5th birthday and extremely conscious of herself and her identity, and already starting to read and write (she brought me her first sentence the other day - completely off her own bat:  “I DID POO” - yes, I’m so proud), I feel it’s time to get serious about instilling in her some basics about America and what it means to be American.  

She likes me to pray with her each night before she goes to sleep, and she likes me to sing her a song.  Up until recently, it was a lullaby, but as of a few weeks ago, I thought it would be a great opportunity to start teaching her The Star-Spangled Banner.  So to start, I cobbled together, as best I could from the cobwebby corners of my memory, the story behind the American national anthem.  She has a little American flag on the top of the bookshelf in her room - one of those little ones that comes with its own little stand.  It stands proudly next to the teddy with her birth details embroidered on its foot that she received from her aunt when she was born.  

I unfurled the flag and explained about the 50 stars.  About the 13 stripes.  About the Battle of Fort McHenry in Chesapeake Bay.  And about Francis Scott Key’s observation of the battle and  his glimpses of that beautiful flag, and all it meant, every time a rocket lit the night sky over the fort.  I animatedly told The Little American of Key’s pride and relief in finding that “our flag was still there” when the sun arose the next morning.  She was enthralled.  I’m enthralled, too.  Even as a non-American, the history of the United States can bring a tear to my eye.  Amazing spirit, and that proud, righteous rebellion.  The Founding Fathers.  I love it all.

It’s time to educate The Little American about America, her flag, her history, her birth state of Oklahoma - and in the process, re-educate myself, and I’ll admit it - I’m excited!  I’ve already jumped on Amazon.com and ordered some books to help the process along somewhat.  So, arriving within the next few weeks will be:

• The Star-Spangled Banner  by Peter Spier
• Oklahoma:  From Sea to Shining Sea  by Linda Saylor-Marchant
• S is for Sooner: An Oklahoma Alphabet by Devin Scillian, Kandy Radzinski

So I sing her the song, and she listens intently, and bit by bit, she's begun to sing little snatches of it with me.  When I get to the part with "Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight, o'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming" her eyes shine and she dramatically points to her little flag on the bookshelf.  Every time.  She gets it!  And I feel, all at once, proud with her - and of her - and for her.  What a heritage!

God bless America.