Whitney Houston and Me

The other day I took the kids to the park and while the girls played to their hearts content, I strolled around the perimeter with Ezra in tow.  An elderly woman was sitting on a park bench, and I hadn't paid much notice to her as I checked in with the girls for a sand castle update.  Later, as I was walking past her she spoke up and asked me if I always speak to my children in Spanish.  After I affirmed it, she went on to tell me how essential that language is here and asked how I learned it.  I told her that we are a mixed family and that Juan is originally from Mexico.

"My daughters are both married to people of a different race," she said.  "I don't know why, but they are attracted to that sort of thing."

(Before you get all offended and everything, I have to say that I don't think she said that with bad feelings, rather the opposite.  After talking with her longer, I came to realize how much she appreciated diversity.)

It made me think of why I was so attracted to Juan.  Of course, there is a multitude of reasons but one of them was simply that he had beautiful dark skin.  My mind wandered to a conversation I recently had with my mom about my childhood.  She reminded me that my first Barbie doll was black, as per my particular request.  I named her Whitney, because it also happened that Whitney Houston was my favorite singer.  (Side note: she was my favorite singer because besides being AWESOME, one of my earliest memories was of me singing to a Whitney Houston tape that my parents got for free in the mail.)  Also, when American Girl babies were all the rage, my sisters and I each got to choose one out.  While they chose babies with the color of their skin (which I'm not saying is less cool,) the doll I chose was quite a few shades darker.  My mom told me that it caught her attention that I didn't choose dolls who looked like me.

Fast-forward about two decades and here I am with a mixed family.  Obviously, I too am "attracted to that sort of thing."  In the world I live, though, people are people and I love my white-as-white nephew just as much as the part-Hispanic one.  I wonder if there is something in one's personality that craves something they simply don't have, so-to-speak , or if there is another reason inter race attraction sometimes presents itself from childhood.  Anyway, those are my thoughts....

Evicted From the Premises

Okay, okay... it's not that bad. Since we are still humble renters and are at the beck and call of our landlord, we have found ourselves in an unfavorable position. She has decided to sell the house after we move, and is currently working with a realtor to get the job done. So we get the short end of the stick and must keep the house spic and span. This is a good habit, I agree, but it does come with some consequences I was not fully prepared for. For example, I can't leave out my towel to air dry after I shower so we are accruing a pile of moldy bath towels. Also, at the realtor's request, I have to make sure everyone is out of the house while someone is walking through. Now, I'm just given vague time frames indicating when the prospective buyers will be walking through the house, so I have to come up with 2 hour-long adventures for us homebodies. Today alone, we walked the river trail for an hour, went to visit animals at a farm, lounged in the shade of some trees down the street from our house, and played at the park. The girls were even a little exhausted by the end of it. Yesterday, we went to the dinosaur museum with Amber (who is in town visiting for her sister's wedding,) and had a picnic for dinner. It may not seem like much, but after a whole week of it, the time away from home adds up. It's so tiring! Tomorrow, we are going to find somewhere to go, but at this point "destinations" are running scarce, so I hope they sell the house soon. On a different note, we lucked out because Harper is staying with us temporarily while he starts his new job and looks for housing. The girls are loving the "sleepovers" we are hosting, since they love entertaining. It's great to be able to see more of him. Update on Ez: He is on the brink of smiling for real. I love it! Also, the poor baby has been struggling with gas issues. He just gulps so much air while he drinks that it upsets his little tummy. Hopefully it goes away so he can enjoy life again. Usually, he is so placid and easygoing, so seeing him cry is pretty upsetting to me. Qiana, bless her heart, loves her little brother so much and wants to play with him all the time; however, she usually takes it a little far. Today, I think she head-butted him trying to kiss his cheek and he started to bawl. The pobresito had real tears! She started crying too, once I scolded her, but I think it was because she felt bad for doing it. Hopefully he makes it through Qiana's rough toddler years.