Awhile back I blogged about my little daughter at the age of three looking around her at the swimming pool in puzzlement at the many white people surrounding her. She finally said, "Where is all the brown?" At the time I was amazed that a three year old would be aware enough to articulate such a question and I was very glad that at least she had a Korean brother to point to.

Today when we once again brought our children swimming at the same pool, the story was a little different. Along with our two Korean kids, we now have four Ethiopian daughters. Besides our kids, today there were also a dozen or so Hispanic people and one other little African American girl. In a group of anywhere from a dozen to 40 kids, that is a pretty decent touch of color. The minorities were still, well, in the minority. But it felt good to look around the pool and know that our kids were able to see plenty of brown faces among the pale ones.

As a mom, I feel torn about where we live. No, it is not a diverse area. Our church is practically ghostly, it is so white. There are 2 Koreans, 5 Ethiopians, and 4 Hispanics in among a slew of Norwegians. And yet we are among relatives-- people who love our kids and are supportive of them. There's always someone around who can come for a visit or help jolly a cranky kid out of a mood or lend a listening ear.

The other day our 11 year old arrived at church having gotten up on the cranky side of life. She made a beeline for my sister, who greeted her with a big hug and chatted with her and sat with us during the church service.

At that moment my daughter needed a little break from (rule-enforcing) mom. Thankfully my sister was there to pick up the slack and help with the nurturing. That meant my daughter was still among family, which comforted both her and me. By the end of the service her mood was heading back towards good cheer, and by the time we went home, she was recovered.

Every time my husband and I think about moving to a more racially diverse area of the country, it keeps coming back to family. Yes, ideally we'd love to live someplace that was both diverse and full of family. At this point we feel that the support of family outbalances the lack of diversity around here. We'll enjoy the moments like today when our kids can look around and see others like themselves. The rest of the time we will treasure the presence of family in our children's lives. And we hope that our children will be able to look back on their childhood as a happy time where they were loved and accepted and where they always knew they belonged.

Related links
Black in a white society?
How diverse is your city?