A Biracial Baby

I was at work yesterday and there were four pregnant women who I saw during the day, each of whom were sick. Later that evening I was eating dinner with my mom and asked what her reaction was when she found out that she was pregnant with me.

Her response "It's so weird that you should ask, I was just thinking about that earlier today!"

I often joke that we are "in sync", if we have plans for dinner together it never fails we usually have a taste for the same thing, or when we are reminiscing we often think of the same times. I was two weeks overdue, cozy, and probably tapped into her brain during that time :-)

In one word she described her reaction as "ecstatic".

I wouldn't expect anything differently from her because my mother is an angel. She was 35 when she found out and didn't anticipate ever having a child. My next question was how my family reacted.

It was 1987, to be born in 1988, when she got pregnant. Because it was with an African American man, whom she was not married to, I imagined that it was somewhat of a hard pill to swallow for my Southern Catholic Caucasian family. My analogy is much like the way I think of those who belong to groups like FLDS; you can't see the other side because you've been brainwashed with nonsense for your entire life. Racism was very much alive. My mom has talked about movie theaters in the town where she lived or water fountains where black people were on one side and white on the other. Segregation. My mother, as not to hurt my feelings I'm sure, sugar coated the level of acceptance and support of her side of the family. However, she admitted that it was challenging for some. She said my grandmother was bothered more by the fact that she was having a child out of wedlock, however, she came and stayed with us the first week of my life. She gave me my first bath.

Sometimes I wonder what it would've been like to have a Caucasian father, and then I think about how blessed I am. I am unconditionally loved and that's more than some can say.

I am grateful.

Yet, I still wonder...what do they really think? Are they ashamed or embarrassed?