The fact that we are white and Wesley is black is something that I thought we should never make an issue of. You know, like we're colorblind. Of course, it doesn't matter to us--we love Wesley. But I was reading an article on interracial adoptions and the author said we should acknowledge and celebrate Wesley's race and deal with any negativity we face with humor. Sounds great to me! In fact one black man who had white parents used to answer "Is she your real mom?" with "Yeah, but sometimes she burns things." I loved it!! So if someone ever asks Wesley that, I'm going to teach him to say "Yeah, sometimes she just likes a little chocolate." :)
So here's our little adoption humor:
Obviously I have never had to deal with anything but thin, straight white-girl hair. So I knew I was in the dark when we got Wesley. A few days afeter we brought him home, I gave Wesley his first bath. Put him in the little tub, washed his body and hair with the sweet-smelling soap we got from the hosptial. (To preface this, Wesley was born with wavy, almost straight hair and light skin. In fact, most people who saw the first picture we first sent out didn't realize he was black.) So anyway, within seconds of me getting his hair wet, Wesley's hair curled up into the cutest, tightest curls you have ever seen. When I brought him out of the bathroom, everyone was in shock. So I said, "Mexican to black in one washing." :) Apparently black moms don't wash their babies hair for weeks after they're born. (This is according to a lady my mom works with who had just had a baby three weeks before Wesley was born.) It was super funny and will make a great scrapbook page when I get around to scrapbooking again. :)
Wesley--Before his first bath
After
4 comments:
That is hilarious!! I cannot believe the difference! By the way, my 100% white husband has hair just like Wesley's, which is why he gets it cut to a 1 with the hair shaver. It is so so so so curly.
I grew up in Hawaii and on an Indian reservation in Arizona and my parents never talked about color. As a result, I was in third grade before I realized that people were catagorized by their color. I was disappointed and I didn't think black people should be called black, they should be called dark brown or chocolates. (Third grade - remember :) ) Since then my sister, mom, and me have called good looking black guys a "hot chocolate".
I also spent all of 5th grade trying to make my booty look like Audrey's booty. I even bent my back with my chest out and butt out to try to make it look bigger (not a problem I have now) but all it did was give me a back-ache.
So, I think your comment to teach Wesley about how sometimes you like a little chocolate is AWESOME!!!
I am so glad that you have him! Yeah!!!
That is sooo funny. I love that he told people his mom sometimes burnt things. SOOOOOOOOO funny! I love that you have a little chocolate baby. He is too cute. I always wanted brown babies, but I only get brown babies in the summer time. They get pretty pale in the winter! You would think as dark as my hubby is that my kids would be darker.....guess my genes are stronger.....Dang it!! :)
I'm back .... I forgot to say that my Great-Grandma was VERY old when I got married and a little CUCKOO CUCKOO CUCKOO and totally believed that Larry was black. (Nappy hair, summer in Brazil to summer in the States - he was VERY tan, AND the first time she met him he had a massive fat lip from playing intermural football.) When Rachel was born Great-Grandma wasted no time telling everyone how "black babies take a few days to get their color". Later, when it became obvious that Rachel wasn't "getting color" she was so surprised that Rachel was "white" and I think she thought I was unfaithful. Poor thing, she was really, really old. Finally died at 105. Nuts as a box o' chocolates.
Rachel's friend is half black and her blonde mom married a white guy. People actually ASK Cassie if she was adopted and she looks them straight in the eye and deadpans - "no". One person said, "But you are black." She said, "I am? I had no idea!" Not in a mean way, just in a "ya think?" way.
Is this the Larry Sant from Richland, WA??? If so, this is Kimberly Gibby Fifita who grew up across the street from the Sants! I'm friends with Elizabeth who's friends with Wendi...small world!
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