Color Blind

I am proud to say that my children are color-blind, at least as far as skin color is concerned. Joseph and I have never been remotely racist nor were we raced in racist households; however, we have relatives who cannot say that. I grew up in a mostly white area of Arkansas. I didn't go to school with blacks or Hispanics until I was in junior high school, but it never occurred to me that the color of ones skin made you different. Joseph spent quite a bit of time in mostly black areas when he was growing up, and he's never been prejudiced. I will admit that I distinctly recall a conversation with my best friend in high school with me telling her that I didn't think we would see the day that a mixed race couple could be married and not face strong adversity in our lifetime. I guess, it depends on where you live, but I haven't seen it be a problem in Northwest Arkansas. I can't say that I've ever noticed such couples getting sideways looks from others. I'm not so naive as to believe it doesn't happen, but I don't think it's as big of a deal today as it was when I was younger. Nevertheless, we have tried to make it a point to not use skin color as a descriptor to our kids. We try to point out a clothing color or an accessory. I think we've even asked other people to do the same in their presence. Aiden has so many friends of every shape and size at school and has never mentioned skin color or national origin for any of them. I admit I was concerned about this a little because his pre-school and day care weren't terribly diverse in my opinion, and I knew his elementary would have a strong Hispanic population. Rylee absolutely ADORES the cook at PeaceKids, and he is a very southern black man. She even reached for him this morning, so he could carry her to class (which prompted this post). I think race relations have come a long way in my lifetime. It is my sincere hope that my kids are the norm for the next generation, and they blogging moms of the future think this is a completely silly post. ~Heather