Day 74: Same and Different

 

A couple of nights ago, as I was bathing the girls and getting them ready for bed, Nikki pointed to Shannay (who was playing in the bathtub) and said, "You not the same."

They are learning same and different at school, so we have a lot of conversations about "same and different" these days. 

 

In fact, we have an exhausting number of  conversations about same and different, related to pretty much  EV-ER-Y-THING we look at, play with, talk about, or eat.

Such is the life of a toddler.  They fixate.  Easily.

So when Nikki pointed to Shannay and said, "You not the same," she really could have been talking about any number of things.  I try never to jump to conclusions where they are concerned. 

I said, "I'm not the same as Shannay?" 

To which she repeated, "You not the same."

I said, "How am I different?"

She said, "You not black."

Gulp.

"I'm not black?" I said.

"No."

"Well, what color are you," I asked?  (I'm in totally uncharted territory here folks . . .)

And she said, 'I black."

I laughed and said, "You are?  I thought you were brown."  I grabbed a black sharpie marker that was laying, lying laying nearby and showed her that the marker cap was black, but her skin was brown.

I said, "See, you're brown."

She looked at me with big eyes and said, "I brown!"

I said, "I'm brown too.  We're really all a shade of brown."  (Yes, I know, a little too deep for a 4 year old!  Don't judge me.  I'm working this out as I go! )

She said, "No.  You pink."

HA!  Technically, in my case, she's right!  Toddlers.  They are so literal!

All that to say, I have officially had my first of what will be many conversations about same and different with my sweet brown babies.

Photo courtesy of Chip Gillespie Photography