I'm thinking about babies

I remember when I was younger and first realized there were differences between races.  After this new found knowledge I decided that I wanted to adopt a child from every race.  I know I'm not the only one who felt this way, am I?

Anyway, after telling this to my mother she supported me but let me know that this was very expensive to do so I better study/work hard so I can make money in the future to accomplish this.  Mothers, I tell ya.  They use every opportunity to promote studying and working. 

So I wanted to revisit something I said earlier--"realized there were differences between races."  I actually remember when I first found this out.  Before I get into that, I will give you a some background information about me.

I was born in Jamaica where the majority of the people were black or "mixed up" so I did not pay attention to race.  Rather, I didn't even know it existed.  I believe this was commonplace for most Jamaicans.  Although Jamaica has mainly black people, I grew up with Chinese, Indians, Lebanese, Irish, etc. friends.   It was interesting because we all went to school together and race never came up.  The main differences that were pointed out were: who was the fastest runner, the smartest, the most fun, etc.  You get what I mean?

When I moved to NY at around age 11, I remember meeting an Italian girl in my class (she was also my cousin's friend).  Her and my cousin were both educating me about race and prejudice (since I hadn't heard the words before).  After she described to me what it was I asked her if she was prejudice.  I remember her smiling and saying "no silly, if I was we wouldn't be friends."  I remember still being puzzled but as time went on (and with experience) I started grasping what she was talking about.

At that age the more I understood the more I wanted to adopt a child from every race.  I think I was serious about this for a few years--being naive about cost and everything else.  I think I wanted to do that in hopes of bringing everyone together to show that people can co-exist thrive together despite their differences.

Now that I am a little older and a little less naive, I understand that it is almost impossible to do what I proposed above.  However I have discovered other ways for me to show that people can thrive together despite their differences, especially race.

My husband and I may not be able to afford to raise the United Nations but we can show love to others who are different from us.  My idea above is not completely out of my mind because if we strike it rich you may just hear about us in the news--The Crazy Family with 50 Kids from Different Nations.

OK, so 50 is an exaggeration.  Anyway, you may ask what does this post have to do with my title "I'm thinking about babies."  It's quite related actually.  I have been thinking about babies and family planning more lately.  I've been thinking about how many children we want to have? What will our kids look like?  Will they have my personality or my husband's or be completely different from us? How long will I stay home with them?  What kind of parent I would be?

Will all this thinking I guess I was reminded about my childhood wish to be a mother of all nations :)

Mrs. K