You're right, Sarah.

We're all working on it. My oldest daughter will probably be the most instrumental in this, as she's in touch with me and the kids' daddy, and also often babysits Ash and Nathan. Everyone's input has helped me so much, too - first, to calm my panic, and second - to give me some first-hand insight into this kind of problem. With the families working together, I have absolutely no doubt that this will be worked out.

I really like your anecdote. I'd like to put that aside for future reference. Normally, children are like that little boy....color, size, age, etc., don't mean more than someone having a freckle or two. Then somewhere in society we pick up the prejudices, and the world becomes more complicated. (To the misfortune of everyone.) The mother's friend is a wise woman.

When one of my daughters was in about the third grade, she had gum stuck in her hair. Poker-straight hair, that even the hairdressers said you can't do anything with. But I found a way to cut her hair myself, along her jawline, and it turned under a bit giving her a "swing" hairdo. Then she brought home a friend, a little Chinese girl just the same size as her, with the same cut and length of hair, wearing the same type of outfit in bright colors. "Look, Mommy," she said, "I've got a new friend, and best of all, we're TWINS!"

Thanks for the encouragement, Sarah.