"Hello, M."

Via Shaker KatherineSpins, this story about a 7-year-old trans girl named M. meeting Laverne Cox might be the best thing you read all day:

Laverne waved her Hollywood wave at the crowd, thanked us graciously, and then looked down at the little girl blocking her path.

"Well, hello," she said.

"I'm M.," my daughter said.

Laverne smiled down at her. "Hello, M."

"And I'm trans," M. said.

I don't think Laverne saw that coming. The crowd around me gasped their approval ("Did you hear what that little girl said?"). Laverne seemed at a bit of a loss. She looked around the room. "Is anyone with her?"

I stepped forward. "I'm her mom." Then I got tongue-tied in the face of celebrity, and forgot how to speak like a normal human. I have no idea what I said.

But M. knew what to do. She went in for a hug. Laverne crouched down to meet M.'s hug at eye level, and as I frantically snapped photos for posterity, I heard her say to my daughter, "Remember, honey, transgender is beautiful."

Read the whole thing here.

Every single thing I read about and by Laverne Cox suggests she is just a really terrific person. And, you know, I don't want to dehumanize her by pretending she's flawless. I'm sure she leaves her shoes right where she knows someone is going to walk or forgets birthdays sometimes or some other annoying things that we humans are all inclined to do.

But she seems very thoughtful (by which I mean contemplative and sensitive with her words, rather than generous—although she seems to be that, too) and very kind, which are two qualities I greatly admire.

I'd be pretty darn excited to meet her, too.