I watched as Jason came into the house last night, swept up his kids and sat down with both of them in front of my dad, his Papa. He is proud of his children and was introducing them to his Papa and it reminded me of the Lion King presenting his son, Simba, to the kingdom. I remember Leah doing the same thing with Shanti, putting her in Papa's arms. Today, we will go to the nursing home and Jas will present his kids to Gigi (my mom, their great-grandma).
I think it's a common, unspoken ritual, because I remember doing the same thing after I had Jason. Jason was 2 months old and I flew down to Atlanta, where my parents were living at the time. I was so proud of my new-born baby, and so I "presented" him to my parents. They, however, were not receptive at the time. After all, their daughter was not married to the baby's father, he was black and not Jewish. My child had everything stacked against him at the time. In fact, I was in the bathroom and I heard Jason start crying and my mother was right near him but wouldn't pick him up. I had to hurry up and finish to go and get him to answer his need. I looked at my mother like, "Why didn't you at least pick him up??" But she stood there looking puzzled and confused as not to know what to do. Later that evening we had an uncomfortable conversation, initiated by my father and it was at that time that I stated emphatically that my baby has done nothing wrong, and if they couldn't accept him as he was, then I didn't want anything to do with them and I would leave and never see them again. They knew I was serious, and it was soon after that, that my parents changed their attitude toward myself and my son. Thank God they did, because I would have done what I said as I loved my baby and I would protect him from all evil and harm as much as I could.
That was 35 years ago, and today my parents absolutely adore my children - and now their great-grandchildren. I'm not saying I was right to give them that ultimatum, but I was a momma bear protecting her baby cub, no matter what came our way. Thankfully, many people, including my parents, have changed after all these years, regarding inter-racial families. Attitudes needed to change, and for those who have not, I feel it's their own loss. God is "no respecter of persons," then why should I be?
My mom was thrilled when we brought the kids to see her today. She has never seen Jade and so this was extra-special for her. Donovan walked around telling the old folks "Hi" and they responded so excitedly that little children were walking the halls. Even when Jade started crying because she was so tired, some people who were in the halls, just smiled and laughed and thought she was so cute. The folks that live there permanently get excited when dogs and kids come to visit. It's actually therapy for them (as well as everyone else), and they enjoy these visits so much.
Children have a way of piercing some of the coldest hearts. There's something about the love and affection of a child, that most of us respond to in a most positive way. A kiss, a hug or a smile can brighten up even the gloomiest of dispositions. The same is true with puppies. They're full of love and kisses and who can resist them? We all want to be loved - even those who don't show it. That's why we respond the way we do to puppies and children. Old people in nursing homes are especially needy in this area. Years ago when I was involved in a nursing home ministry, I found that many of the people there never got visitors; either they had no children and few friends, or in some cases, the children never visited them. I couldn't believe it, but the staff told me that it was true. The people who needed love and affection the most, were void of it the most. There's something seriously wrong with that. I see it every day visiting my mom. Half of the people there are recovering from surgery and getting rehab, but the other half are residents there. The saving grace in this nursing home are the CNA's. They do absolutely everything except for giving out the medication, and yet they are gentle and kind to the residents there. I think it takes an incredibly strong and comitted person to do these jobs. I've seen them stroke the patient's hair or shoulder and even give a kiss on the cheek. I've seen them do this with my own mother and she eats it up. I'm so thankful that these workers do what they do. They are truly some of the most unsung heroes that I know.
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