Maybe you need a pick-me-up today? I have a story for you. And it has to do with the mural of Frida Kahlo painted on our garage. We live two blocks from a bilingual daycare center. They’ve recently resumed care and once again the kids and their teachers are out for daily walks...

They’re littles, so they don’t usually have masks, but their teachers do. Today they all wore turquoise t-shirts and held onto a lime green cord while they walked together. It’s beautiful weather, and working in my office with all of the windows open, I could hear them coming.

As they approached the front of house, and our porch decorated with colorful Mexican banners, they paused and the teacher asked them what they saw. “Coco!” the little voices all shouted. Yes, to little ones who’ve seen the movie, we are the Coco house.

And as they approached the driveway, it was obvious teacher was setting them up for a big reveal. “Tada!” she said as they reached the driveway and they could all see the mural. For the next ten minutes they talked, in Spanish and in English, of the colors they saw....

...“Red!” “Blanco!” “Azul!” “Yellow!” And when the lesson was over, their teacher encouraged them to all together say, “Adios Frida!” And they turned and continued on their walk. The End.

I think I did this thread thing backwards, but oh well. Hopefully you still get it, and hopefully it brings you a little joy in times that feel so dark.