She literally stalked the town looking for him. She’s never heard of him before. All she knew is that he was important to her son Miles, and she didn’t have much time.
Her search would end with a shocking outcome that would touch millions.
A Son’s Urgent Ask
Who’s Tanner?!
Britney is recalling the day that her 5-year-old son Myles came to her with an urgent request. He wasn’t asking for too much. But before she could do anything, Britney would have to find out more about this ‘Tanner’ he couldn’t stop talking about.
After some searching, she finally gets the name of Tanner’s mother, Lakendra. When she reaches Lakendra over the phone, Britney now understands who Tanner is.
That’s when Britney has a message for Lakendra. She’ll be sending Miles to school with clothing for both Myles and Tanner to change into the next day.
But when Britney sees a picture of her son and Tanner, she is speechless. And she’ll not be the only one.
The Picture That Melted Hearts
As Britney is telling the story, she is joined by Myles, Lakendra, Tanner and none other than Steve Harvey, whose jaw is on the floor.
When Harvey heard of the story behind Myles and Tanner’s viral picture, he had to invite them all on the show to hear it in person.
Here’s what happened: Part of Red Ribbon Week at Myles’ school was twin day, which is a day when two kids dress alike.
Myles couldn’t get home fast enough to ask his mom if he and his classmate and best friend Tanner, his twin, could take part.
“He was adamant that they looked identical, that they had the same hair and the same eyes,” she recounted to Harvey.
That’s when Britney tracked down Tanner’s mother to give her the head’s up that she was sending her son clothing the next day.
What made the picture that Britney saw so surprising was the fact that Tanner is Black and her son is white.
Brothers Without Colors
As Britney is sharing the story, Tanner and Myles are clueless as to how special their brotherly bond is in a world that often sees color before people.
Harvey asked Lakendra if they spoke to their sons to explain it to them.
“No no. They act like they’re brothers and they call themselves brothers, so we just…”
“Yeah. We’re not gonna point out the differences,” adds Britney.
“Cause they don’t see none,” as Harvey jumps in.
“Because kids don’t see differences. They’re, they’re taught differences. If you go to any playground, you see all the kids playing together. You don’t see until they get older, they’re separated.”
How Two Boys Teach Us That Love Is Color Blind
But that’s all adult babble, let’s find out from the twins.
Turning to Tanner, Harvey asks why Myles is his twin.
“Because he wants to be my friend.”
He then asks Myles the same of Tanner. “Because he’s my best friend” and “We’re both five!” he says, holding up five fingers with a smile.
Well, that settles that!
It’s been said that adults are just deteriorated children. I strongly believe that. As children, our sole motivation is to love and be loved (Oh, and don’t forget candy, and ice cream, and cartoons).
Yet like Harvey said, purity is taught out of us and we start to see differences as we grow up. Our heart gives way to our mind, which gives way to putting people in a box.
But with a bit of self-reflection, we can find our inner kid and the capacity to love everyone for the precious kid that they are too.
Harvey said it best. “If we could learn from kids, man… Man, this world be a cooler place, man.”
Amen.
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