Growing Up...

I grew up in the deep South. Now, if you are from the deep South I am sure you are smiling at your screen certain of what I'm going to say next. And, you're right. While I saw a few interracial relationships growing up, they were almost always of the black male/white female variety and even those were few and far between. It's not even that you heard people speaking ill of interracial relationships. It just wasn't done.

Thank goodness for travel. And, for having a mother who knew the value of it. My mother loved to travel and often dragged me along, regardless of my feelings. It wasn't until I became an adult that I realized the gift she had given me. She showed me that there was a world outside of our city and for that I am forever grateful. Although we only traveled inside of the country, I saw that there were places where interracial couples lived peacefully, without ridicule or scorn. That made me even more curious about the world outside of my own country. The travel bug was planted at an early age and subsequently was allowed to grow.