Little Ears and Little Hearts

I have to say that we have had a very positive experience being a multi-racial family.  Yes, Beau does get a lot of attention when we are out and about and we get occasional comments and questions, for the most part it has always been really positive.  Also, we live in a very diverse part of the country.  Families come in all colors, shapes, and sizes here in Atlanta so it is not like we really "stand out."

Today was the first day that I had to really start thinking about how I would protect little Beau's ears and heart if comments were made in front of him that might not build up his spirit.  Although Beau's expressive language skills are still a bit behind his peers, he is very smart and understands everything that is said.

Today we were in a cute little monogramming shop that I love.  A lady there looked at Beau and then told her co-worker, "I always wanted one of those."  As she said the word "those" she used her fingers to make her eyes look slanted.

I am not one to be easily offended and honestly I wasn't offended.  She was obviously making a reference to Beau being Asian and I guess she wanted an Asian child.  I am really good at taking things with a grain of salt and I knew she wasn't deliberately trying to be offensive.

The thing is, as Beau gets older he is going to understand these comments and gestures.  Hopefully people will have enough of a filter that they would not say something like that in front of a school aged child that would obviously understand.

We want Beau to know he is adopted and be proud of his 2 heritages.  His race will always be Asian.  He is fully Korean and was born to 2 Korean parents, even if by law he is now a Korean American.  Beau looks at his homecoming pictures all the time and we talk about how that is when he came home from Korea.  Obviously he doesn't quite get it now, but we never ever keep it a secret.  He will know he is adopted and we will try to instill in him a strong sense of self.

We will never be able to protect Beau from crazy hurtful things that some people might say, but hopefully we will teach him how to respond in love and hopefully he will have enough self-confidence to brush off disrespectful comments.  But I always hope that people are mindful of what they say in front of children and how it might impact their little hearts.  Let's be in the business of building up little hearts, not tearing them down.