As breakfast cooks, I sit in my little office at the farm and my mind wanders back through decades. I guess the latkes for breakfast got me thinking of the days when the kids were growing up. I have never made a claim to being a model parent. Far from it. In parenting as in life we learn as we go--I hope. The kids grew up in Highland Park, a tiny enclave in the heart of the Twin Cities. The Jewish Community Center (the JCC) was located just down the hill from our home on Edgcumbe Road, and so the kids went there for day care. A custom in our family at dinner was to ask the kids what they did during the day. So when I asked my son, Christian age five, what he did at day care, he said, “Dad we made matzo balls, but we aren’t Jewish are we?” I thought about my sheltered early life on the farm and I was probably 15 before I ever met a person of the Jewish faith. I thought how good that he was being exposed to the rich diversity of life early on. Well, Christian, today is a wonderful young man with a sense of humor. I like that. In a recent conversation he said, “Dad why did you send me to the JCC?” Before I could respond he continued. “First my name was Christian. Second, I was the only blond kid in the school, and I was so tall the other kids nick named me ‘Too Tall.’” He laughed and I smiled. A rich experience day care was for him. By quiet example we always tried to teach the kids to experience as much diversity in life and to avoid prejudice. When our youngest son, Benjamin, was 15 he went off to study for several months in Costa Rica. A few years later his friend Carlos came from Costa Rica to stay with us. They took a road trip to the farm and visited some of the area small towns. Ben came back to tell us at dinner, “Dad, we are nothing but a racist society.” I was shocked and he went on to day, “Carlos and I were in a hardware store in a small town and were speaking and laughing in Spanish, and people looked at us in disgust as if we were aliens.” Oh my. It is interesting how often in life, we tend to associate with others who look and think as we do. I guess we are often uncomfortable around people who look, act, and talk differently than we do. Sad because we let our prejudices limit our ability to get a clear view of the wonderful world in which we live. My kids are far from perfect. After all they inherited my genes, and lived life too long with me to be perfect. But great they are. And they have taught me to try new things and to associate with people with diverse backgrounds. And today? I am going to look for opportunities to do just that. I write to lecture no one, but simply to remind myself of what I need to do on this day. But if today you can find the time to do some new things or visit respectfully with people whose views are different than yours? I think it would be good for you and those close to you. From the farm, I am wishing you the best on this day.
Posted on: Sun, 21 Jul 2013 13:30:42 +0000
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