Check out my interview with Goapele as we discuss her new album, Break of Dawn, motherhood, social media, and the Occupy Wall Street movement. Enjoy!
Dedicated to the Black Experience
Check out my interview with Goapele as we discuss her new album, Break of Dawn, motherhood, social media, and the Occupy Wall Street movement. Enjoy!
I’ve often thought of writing a series that chronicled my experiences as a new mom but figured nobody would be as interested in my child as me. This might be true but as a parent, I’m so drawn to hearing the experiences of other parents and enjoy anecdotal stories of what children have said and done. I figure I’m not the only one out there so here goes.
I’m calling this series “Raising a Black Man” because I am mother to a three-year old black boy going on 30. He is my buddy, a source of unconditional love, and my greatest achievement to date. I live in a constant state of wanting to protect him from all things bad and evil which I know is an uphill battle, but I’m giving it my all. Luckily, I am not parenting alone.
Raising a toddler is like having your own personal sketch comedy show. On any given day a myriad of things will come out of these little peoples’ mouths that you don’t expect and further, they will do things that will keep you in stitches. For instance, as I was showering this morning I came across a scratch on my body I didn’t know existed and murmured, “Ouch” in the shower. My son hears this and comes to inquire:
“Mommy, why you say ouch?”
“Because I found a scratch that hurts. I might need a band-aid.”
“You need a band-aid?”
“I think so.”
“I’ll get one for you mommy.”
He proceeds to the bathroom cabinet to look for band-aids, but I know they are out of his reach. He comes back to me with a pantyliner. “Here, mommy, use this big band-aid.”
Priceless. You can’t make stuff like this up. And it happens daily.
What I loved most about this particular scenario is that my son already feels a need to protect me. I think that’s great since one of my goals is to raise him having both an affinity for and a responsibility toward his family. Conversations about the future of Black men seem so bleak at times that I’d like to offset it with the manner in which I raise my son. So far, so good, but I’ve got at least 18 years to go.