I had talked to several people over the last few weeks about bringing more diversity into our lives. Adopting a child of color has really made it clear to me how monochromatic our lives are. Our closest friends, family, and church folks are primarily white. Our neighborhood is pretty diverse, but in general, people stick to themselves. We know a number of transracially adopted children with African-American heritage, but don't have any AA adults in our daily lives to serve as role models or simply to provide Ethan with a better idea of what it means to be brown-skinned in our area.

At my mother's suggestion, I talked to Billie Sue at the 4th of July parade. As a woman active in the larger community and more specifically, the African American community, I thought she would be a good starting point to help us as a family become involved and serve the community along side a more diverse group of people. Instead of recommending organizations or causes, however, she offered something even better. She invited us to become a part of her extended family and to join them at family gatherings. So now Ethan has a new "Granny" and we have a new path to expand our social group and meet more young families who can better help Ethan have a better understanding of the culture behind his African American heritage. How cool is that?!?