Pick a Card, Any Card...

Okay, so you picked the race card. How fun is that. Let's discuss.

This post has spurred from watching an episode of MTV's True Life series. Last Sunday I was watching the epsiode titled "I'm in an Interracial Relationship." And while it caught my curiosity I came to the realization (after a while) that "Hey, I could be on this show too!" I forget sometimes.

Yes, I am too in an interracial relationship.

Now for those of you that know me and know what I look like you are probably saying "Yeah right" but on paper, my husband and I are from a different race. Which isn't really that big of a deal. At least I don't think so. And I don't think that we have ever been looked down upon because we are together. A couple of questions have come up over the years but nothing that is earth-shattering or much of a relationship-breaker. We could have huge differences that affect us every day, so I'm happy (and grateful) that this isn't one of them.

Hey even my dad calls me a coconut. Brown on the outside and white on the inside.

But now that we are multiplying, a few questions do come into play. Basic questions like what is the child going to look like, what ethnicity are we going to put down on school records, how will his "mixedness" affect him at school, in the future?, etc. Mixedness isn't the right word but you get it.

Speaking of school, I remember when my friends and I would share report cards in Elementary School. I always thought that it was strange that I had a "4" under "Ethinicity" while ALL my friends had a "5." I never asked the teacher or my parents about it (I was painfully shy), and it really didn't affect me that much, but it was something that I did think about. Why did I get a 4? What's wrong with me? What did I do wrong.

I figured it out in junior high. Finally after 6 years of that question coming up every six weeks I had the answer. And it was a major "DUH" that went through my head.

I want my child to appreciate where he/she came from. What his great-great grandparents had to do to become American citizens. On BOTH sides of the family. Yes, my husbands family came over on a boat, mine over on a wagon. I want my child to embrace his/her heritage, something that I DID NOT do until much later in life. And I regret it so much.

Another addition to the looooooong list of things I want to teach and instill in my child.

But the fact of the matter is, you never cross it off.