Too heavy for Friday morning

This morning as I was putting pigtails in her hair, Molly said she wondered if people in Africa would think she looked funny because she is white. This being 7:30am, I wasn't prepared for a response and quickly said something along the lines of she'll look different, but pretty. Then Molly said, "I guess that is how my brother and sister might feel too when they move here." Oh my goodness, I wasn't ready for that! So we talked about how our family will look different from lots of other families and I asked her what she would tell her siblings. She thought a moment, then said "That you are perfect and your family doesn't care how you look." We talked a little more and she decided that families are just the people who love you no matter what. I was really moved by the conversation (couldn't let on because she's quick to remind me that "if grown ups cry it makes kids worry") and I knew it was a glimpse of many conversations to come on the subject of race. After school, we were at a park full of Head Start classes and Molly and Blake were the minority. I watched as they packed 15 kids on a merry-go-round, all squeezing together and speaking no less then 3 languages; I prayed that all my kids will always be able to squeeze in without feeling out of place whereever they may be.