“Since my daughter was born, people have thought I was her nanny, whether it was school or the playground. They can’t believe I’m her mother because we don’t appear to be the same race. The worst has been immigration agents at airports when we come back into the country. I’ve raised her super savvy to how people’s perception of our race tells more about them than us. She maybe even has an attitude about it. The last time we landed back in the U.S. an agent addressed her for the first time instead of me. He pointed at me and asked her, ‘Who is this woman to you?’ In a tween-oh-no-you-didn’t tone she replied, ‘Um, like, that’s my mom.’ There may have been an eye roll. I couldn’t help but laugh. Thankfully, the agent ended up laughing too…. She gets mistaken for a boy too sometimes. When I ask her if she cares she says, ‘Nah. Doesn’t matter.’ Good.”
Thanks Carmen Rita for sharing your #noshameparenting story