Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts

Sunday, September 22, 2013

To My Biological Mom...



A note to my bio mom, whom I've never met. I'm not sure why, but for the first time in 48 years, I felt compelled...

~I don't have a longing but I am curious. Do you feel the same?
~I've always wondered if we act alike. Do you feel the same?
~I look in the mirror and imagine seeing you. Do you feel the same?
~I relate to my heritage because it's my blood. Do you feel the same?
~I love my own daughter to my soul. Do you feel the same?
~I have a wonderful life and am truly grateful. Do you feel the same?
~I don't miss you but I think of you. Do you feel the same?

~I know in my heart if we met, we would be the same!

One final question...
Do you ever wish you knew my name?

The Luckiest Girl in the World......


She came home, all wrapped in pink, to a house that was filled with love.

Her childhood had many faces and many places, and friends from all around.

She kept old friends and made new friends, and was always ready for more.

There were times when change wasn't so easy for her, and she gave you lots of grief.

You never stopped loving her, you never stopped believing in her

and even when you wanted to, you never gave up on her.

She finally grew out of it, and became more mature, and thankfully lessons were learned.

She went off to college, and traveled the world, because you gave her wings to fly.

She loved and she lost, you stood by her side, while she picked up the pieces of her life.

She became her own woman, she loved again, this time it was for keeps.

There were smiles all around as she started a family, a new little girl of her own.

Her family grew up, right before her eyes, and then she continued to grow.

She went on, to follow her dreams of making it on her own.

Then her dream was destroyed, and once again, you were there to help her through the storm.

The storm is still raging, but she is not, for a new dream has now been born.

She is stronger than ever, no matter the hurdles, because she knows she's never alone.

Who was that baby wrapped in a blanket so many years ago?

That baby was me, and all I can say is I'm the luckiest girl in the world.

I write these words deep down from my soul, to my beautiful parents, who gave me so much.

You made me feel special because I was chosen, and you told me I came from your heart.

I thank you for loving me, I thank you for choosing me, I thank you from my core.

I will love you forever, and always be thankful, that I was the one you chose.

~Amy




(Originally written and posted in 2010)

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Happy Father's Day!

My favorite picture of dad and hubby
Two men from different worlds. 
Two men that respect each other.
Two men that love each other. 

Two men that would do anything for family.
Two men that give unconditional love.
Two men that are amazing Dads.

Two men that have been there through everything. 
Two men that helped make me who I am today.
 Two men that I love with all my heart and soul. 

Two opposite men. 
Two hearts of gold.
One complete love.

Happy Fathers Day!!
I love you both!
Amy

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Interracial Marriage on the Rise.....

A report just came out from the PEW Research Center on interracial marriage. Much of the media is reporting on the study. Our family was part of the story in USA Today and the L.A. Times.

After being together for 20 years and married for 19, we don't think of each other as an interracial couple...we are a couple.

In the end, we are not made up of colors, we are just us.♥  I'm thankful and honored that our family is part of the story bringing about awareness and change. It is imperative to open minds so one day this will no longer need to be a story.

Check out some of the articles about the rise of IR marriage with our family featured:

USA Today~
Our family picture representing the USA Today article about the PEW report. (2/16/2012)

L.A. Times~
Article in L.A. Times about the PEW report with a brief interview from me. (2/16/2012)

USA Today~
Our family featured in USA Today article about the rise of interracial marriage. (11/8/2011)

Monday, November 14, 2011

USA Today Comments.......



Last week our family had the honor of being featured in USA Today. I was interviewed for the piece and then a photographer came out and did a photo shoot of our family. We had such a great time with the photographer he actually ended up joining us for dinner after we were done taking pictures. The article came out a couple of weeks after the interview and it was such a thrill to have our family be the face of interracial marriage in USA Today. It truly touched me because so much of my writing is about this very subject.

I have been writing about interracial marriage for years now and the one thing that I have never had to deal with when it comes to writing about our family, whether on my blog or on guest sites, is racist comments. Even if there has been a difference of opinion the comments have always been very respectful. When the article came out in USA Today I was saddened to see so many racist and hateful comments in the comment section. Thankfully there were many more positive comments than negative ones but it saddened me none the less. Because USA Today reaches so many people I should not have been surprised, but I was. I'm not going to go into specifics about what was said and luckily the paper pulled the really horrible comments, but it still shocks me to see how closed minded and ignorant people can be when it comes to race in America in 2011. I actually had to stop reading the comments because they made my stomach turn. They also made me realize how much work we still need to do when it comes to educating people about race and interracial relationships. 

The one thing that I want people to know that don't seem to understand or approve of our family is we are truly no different than any other family out there today. I don't wake up in the morning and look at my husband and think, "I'm so in love with my black husband," he's just my husband. I don't look at my daughter and think, "My biracial daughter is my heart and soul," she's just my daughter. Yes my husband is black, yes I'm white and yes our daughter is biracial.....those are the facts, but the truth of the matter is, we are three people that make up a family filled with love. It really is that simple. I didn't steal a black man from the hood, Jamie didn't set out to meet a white woman, and we didn't say let's have a mixed child. We married each other because we fell in love and we had a child because we wanted a family. Color has never had anything to do with our choices when it comes to our relationship and family. Color only comes into play when society continues to make an issue of it. We are about love and love only. Isn't that why anyone gets married and starts a family? 

I've said it before and I will say it again. Tatiana gets the best of both worlds. We embrace my culture and we embrace Jamie's culture. She gets double the fun, double the food, double the history, double everything!  Talk about an open mind. America is all about people that originally came from some place else. Our country is really just one big melting pot of the world, so trying to be around one race and one race only is quite unrealistic. I feel sorry for people that aren't open to other races, cultures and backgrounds. They are truly missing out on so many wonderful experiences. It's quite sad.   

So in the end, to those that had such negative things to say about our family....all I can say is, my heart breaks for the hate that you carry. I hope that you can one day realize we are just a family that happens to have multiple shades of skin colors and lots and LOTS of LOVE!       

Thank you USA Today for such a wonderful experience!           

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Happy 17th Birthday Tatiana!!

When Jamie and I got married in 1993, we knew that we wanted to have children right away.  We both love our families and we wanted to start our own soon after our wedding, so we did!  Tatiana Chantal Wise came into this world 17 years ago, on September 20th, 1994.  From day one Tatiana had a mind of her own, a huge heart, a giant smile and a laugh that just never quit.  She screamed a lot too!  Just for fun.  Fun for her, not so much for us!  The neighbors still laugh about how loud she was. =)  Oh ya, one more thing, she had lots and lots of hair!  She was literally born with an afro.  I'm not kidding, she really was.  Oh the hair!   

 
I'm still amazed that she has gone from diapers, to dancing, to girl scouts, to teen (help us please!) to a high school graduate at 16, and now here she is today......SEVENTEEN years old!!  How did it happen so fast? It's been an amazing, wild, 17 year rollercoaster.  Tatiana has come in to her own and we are so proud of the young woman she is today.  She has excelled, she has made mistakes, and she continues to learn and grow.  That's what life's all about and she is certainly living it!  Her free spirit is inspiring!

So on Tatiana's 17th....we say happy, happy birthday; to a kind, amazing, talented, beautiful, loving, incredible, smart, rock star of a daughter!  We are so blessed that she is our child and now we look forward to her almost adult future and all the amazingness she is going to create in the years to come!  Happy birthday Tatiana!  We LOVE you! 

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Build Your Life!



Lately I’ve seen question after question on various interracial websites about what couples should do when family members don’t accept their interracial relationship. My answer to this is…..don’t be afraid to build a life together because you’re worried about what other people think of your relationship. Jamie and I never would have made it past dating had we listened to everyone else’s opinions about us. Here we are 19 years later, with a beautiful daughter and an amazing life!

I’m so disturbed about some of the stories I’ve seen in the news or heard from friends lately, that sometimes I feel like we are actually moving backwards when it comes to race relations. Just the other day there was a story on the news about a man who had his daughter sign a contract that stated she would not date any black men, felons, or gangsters, and if she did he would kill them. Kill them?! Really!? First of all, the fact that he lumped black men in the same category as felons and gangsters, like ALL black men fall into these categories, is stereotyping at its worst. The contract itself was twisted enough, but when the daughter actually ended up dating a black man, her father posted dead or alive posters with the boyfriend’s information and picture on them! Well, karma is a “you know what,” and Daddy is now in prison for 7 years! Clearly this is an extreme case of racial family issues, but I hear time and time again of families that will automatically disown their children if they date outside their race. How do you disown your own child? Better yet, why would you want to? Disowning someone because of the skin color of the person they love? Seriously? Why? Does this “skin color” beat your child? Does this “skin color” treat your child horribly? Or does this “skin color” love your child with all “its” heart? Last time I checked skin color doesn’t hurt people, people do.

Jamie and I have lived through it all when it comes to racism, and there were days, when trust me, I didn’t think the tears would stop because of some of the racial issues we had to deal with, but now, here we are, happier, stronger and more in love than ever. We love us, we love our life and we wouldn’t have it any other way. We never allowed circumstances or people to divide us or destroy our love. In fact, just the opposite, our strength comes from all we have had to deal with throughout the years and at this point we are Mr. and Mrs. Universe we are so freakin’ strong!  Nothing and no one can come between us….ever!

Now, back to YOU…..whatever you do….don’t be afraid to build YOUR life! Go….now….start today. Here’s to your future and here’s to your love….today, tomorrow and forever!