A mere paper cut....

This afternoon, while reorganizing my file of math lessons, I gave myself one hell of a paper cut. It's on my left thumb- it starts about 2 cm above the far left side of the thumb nail, curves in towards the nail and slides right down into the nail bed. In regards to paper cuts, I'd say this one is fairly deep. It bled for a bit- long enough that when I picked up my kids from the library, I was able to show it off to them. They thought it was pretty awesome.

Cut to this evening- right about when I was scrubbing potatoes and then peeling them for potato lasagna. My paper cut got wet- and it became sore again. I was reminded of the pain when the file sliced through my skin- it made me do one of those shaky "ewwww yucky" jig things. I started thinking how silly it was that such a little tiny cut can gross me out. It made me think of needing antibiotic cream, band aids, soap and water. Poor me. I got an itty bitty cut on my thumb.

Cut to this moment. Right when I started thinking about the documentary Jason and I watched last night... The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till. If you haven't watched it, go right to Netflix and put it on your queue. It's something you will never forget- nor should you. It's incredibly sad that I was unaware of his story- I am grateful that I now know. Here's a 14-year-old boy who, while visiting relatives in the Mississippi Delta in the 1950's, was murdered after he spoke/whistled to a white female store clerk. Brutally murdered. The men who killed him were not found guilty during trial, but because of his mother's immense strength and fight it is believed that Emmett's murder helped spur the civil rights movement. Such sadness. And brutality. And strength. And fortitude. And HOPE.

Next time I get a paper cut, I hope I'm not such a big baby. Perspective, right?