Marcel: Mama do you love yourself?
Me: Yes. Yes I do.
Marcel: How can you love yourself if you are not brown skinned?
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Marcel: Mommy look–this stick is our family! (picks up stick with half the bark on, half the bark off)
Me: Beautiful.
Marcel: Mommy if I am on one side, and Sammy is on the other, you are what is underneath. You are holding it all together.
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Sammy: (reading his adoption story book) Mommy, can I have a pen?
Me: Sure. Do you need to change something?
Sammy: Yes. (Writes. Hands book to me)
Me: Reading out loud the page where I announce that meeting him completed my path to becoming a mommy. Then I pause and read what he added after I wrote and now I am complete; SO AM I.
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We had the stomach flu last week. Sometimes a three day bout with the plague, is all it takes to bring you together?
OK, then at dinner tonight Sam said; “You know what I am most thankful for?” I smiled at him, expecting him to say something gushy about me. Instead, he looked at me and said; “Having a maid.” It was all I could do to not initiate a little spontaneous Frisbee with the dinner this Mama-maid-made him.
Instead I calmly explained why I would prefer he NEVER use that word to describe me, and in the next breath how maids are undervalued for all their back breaking work.
“I know why we leave them all the money in the hotel Mommy. But this isn’t a hotel. It’s just our house… And you don’t ever change my sheets do you?”
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A little image from this week when Marcel was about to set foot into his kindergarten orientation below. Talk about love–that child is so in love with the idea of being in big kid school. His joy is LOVE.
Share some love here at Mama C. Any great one liners you could have done without, or can’t believe you heard? Have a great weekend all, and know that this maid for one is really looking forward to a little time with friends off the clock and on the dock!
We are a family of two white (lightskinned, as we say in our household) parents and two bi-racial kids through adoption. Our son is 13, our daughter just turned 8.
I remember when my son was about four years old and fixated on having a Barbie doll. He already had a variety of other (mostly baby) dolls at home, but I was hesitant to buy the Barbie. I wasn’t comfortable with the impossible beauty standard that she represents. To stall him, I gave him some formidable set of tasks to accomplish first so that he could “earn” the doll. He completed the list by the next day. You could say he was motivated.
We returned to the store to select his reward, and I directed him towards a lovely brown skinned Barbie. I was trying to stay on message, despite his fascination with this absurd female form. He quickly chose a lightskinned model. I was dissapointed. I tried to entice him to choose one of the other more pigmented models, pointing out how beautiful they were. He was firm, he wanted THAT Barbie only.
I caved in, honored his choice, and felt the sting of my parenting failure as I paid for the lightskinned doll at the register. On our way home, I asked him why he liked THAT Barbie above all the others in the store. As he lovingly played with his much coveted, hard won, new toy, he responded matter-of-factly “because it looks like you!”
I have the same problem with barbie, thankfully my daughter doesn’t really like dolls
This was is so beautiful and speaks volumes for the great job you are doing raising your incredible boys. So much love and happiness to all of you.
the Kid: Momma, where your penis at?
Me: Momma is a girl. Girls don’t have a penis.
the kid: No penis? aw (shakes head), so sad for momma.
Boys!
I just love hearing what your boys say and how much you clearly treasure them. It’s so wonderful to see little boys able to express their feelings so easily and joyfully. You are raising strong men who will become great husbands and fathers. Hats off to you Mama C!
I am indeed blessed! There are some benefits to being a processor Mama!!! Thanks all.
Love those quotes – they made me want to cry. Today my daughter told me that she told her caseworker she would come live with us because she didn’t want to hurt our feelings!!
OMG. Weeps.
Right now all Theo says are hilarious things like: That’s crazy! or Oh man! or Good morning or See you next year or Big Truck.