Reply #90: My godson was talking to his mom [View All]

about the father of one of his classmates whose skin was so black it was blue! She explained to him that people came in MANY different colors and asked him what other "black" people they knew. He listed several. She prompted him. He listed several more. She prompted him again. "Nope that's it." She asked, "What about Karenina?" He replied in his inimitable fashion, "OOOOOOOHHH, yeah!" My "baby" NEVER NOTICED my skin color until his mom pointed it out to him. The first time I saw him he KNEW my voice (as I'd spoken to him on many occasion in utero). It NEVER occurred to him that his Karenina was "different," our relationship precluded any "difference" from registering until it was highlighted.

At a friend's wedding I was playing with some toddlers as I am wont to do. We had a lot of fun. I hadn't met them before and did not know to whom they belonged, nor did I care. We were running around the fish pond, inventing games and just having a good time. Then DADDY (a colleague of mine) came. "Are THESE YOUR babies? WE had so much fun!" He then pointed out to them the difference in our skin colors. If the boys had even noticed they hadn't cared up to that moment. Suddenly they became very fearful and withdrawn. I was FURIOUS and spent the next hour ignoring the adults and getting us back to where we were running around the fishpond and making up games. I have yet to confront Papa with what he did. Maybe I needn't do so, as the kids in subsequent meetings now KNOW and recognize me as "their" Karenina who is more than happy to play with them.