It began with the letter Q. As I picked up Isabel from preschool this afternoon, I checked her folder and found a cute piece of art on the letter Q. We have similar pieces taped around the house. When I saw it I said to Isabel, "Hey look! It's the letter Q, like your name." Another mom looked at me like I had suddenly grown a third eye. I explained that her Chinese name Qing Qing (pronounced Ching Ching) began with the letter Q.
Okay... now here is the strange part. She looked at me with a confused look on her face and said, "She's Chinese?" I told her yes, that I had adopted Isabel almost three years ago.
Her response: "I never knew that. I thought you had her, you know, yourself." She continued to tell me she thought my husband was Asian.
Now I was as confused as she was. Me? The almost 6 foot Irish American? With a Chinese husband? That thought would never have entered my mind... not because of the mixed races but because of the mixed heights. As a TALL woman (who has always been aware of my height), the thought of me being with a (traditionally) short Asian man never entered my mind...
... at least not before this conversation.
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