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Children’s Book Review: Shades Of Black
As a transracial, adoptive parent, there are many things my husband and I can share with our son, The Littlest E, unconditional love, nurturing, caring, etc. We can teach him compassion, empathy, how to be a good, loving person, and what we know about life. We can share with him our hobbies and joys, and the usual everyday things parents share, teach and show their children. One thing we can’t share with him is our…
First Haircut, A Cultural Experience
As many of you know if you’ve been following my blog, my son, The Littlest E, is originally from Ethiopia. My husband and I adopted him almost 18 months ago and it’s been an amazing journey. There are so many things that go along with transracial adoption; one of them is a haircut. I am part of an online group of moms who have adopted from Ethiopia and there was a discussion about hair products…
YOU’RE NOT GROWN YET
So me and the wife had this debate about how to raise a little girl. Man, I feel like I’m walking down this fatherhood conversation gauntlet every time my wife responds to me. LOL I don’t really believe in anything greatly different for boys than girls. At least not today. It seems like young men are often encouraged to live out their truth and are championed for exploring. It seems that society often places a…
Playground Bullies- And “Delicate” Girls.
I am anti-bullying. Also, anti-gender discrimination. When both are ignored you’ve got one unhappy playground Mama. Yesterday, at Nora’s (and my) favorite neighborhood playlot, she was playing cheerfully under a jungle gym. All sorts of important tasks were going down; wood chips were being slid through pegs, shadows were being captured, and proclamations of “I am right here, Mommy” rang out to me, a mere three feet away. A rock flying through the air and…
Questions Of Identity For A Transracially Adopted Child
Recently my family and I went to an Ethiopian multicultural fair in Los Angeles that was sponsored by the Ethiopian community. Our 2-year old son, The Littlest E, is originally from Ethiopia and my husband and I felt it was important for us to go and be a part of this annual event celebrating the many cultures of Los Angeles, as well as the Ethiopian New Year (which is September 11th). There is a sizeable…
Jackson Is My Son Too.
I love being a stay at home dad sometimes because I am very close with my five year old son Jackson and my two year old Katie. I often times take it for granted how wonderful our relationships are and what a blessing it is to be a father of two wonderful healthy children. However, I get a good grounding in it every other weekend when Jackson has to visit his biological father for two…
Am I Justified In Feeling So Uncomfortable About American Girl Dolls?
I usually write about becoming a Mompreneur and all things entrepreneurial, but today I wanted to deviate for just a moment to talk about something else. I’ve only been living in the States for three years so I’m still being introduced to parts of American life that previously I knew nothing about. Most things I’m LOVING (like tater tots and Arnold Palmer) some things – not so much (like the in’s and out’s of health…
Inadvertent Racism
Having an adopted child from another race, we knew it was bound to happen sooner or later – a prejudiced comment. I didn’t think it would happen when The Littlest E was a toddler, and I certainly didn’t think it would happen at my husband’s church. But, it did. My husband and I have different religions and his place of worship is very important to him. We go, as a family, once a month so…
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