I remember at 10 years of age meeting my paternal grandparents for the first time. My uncle & aunt were there as well with their 3 children. At some point we walked down to the river. My grandmother reached over to hold my cousin’s hand. Naturally, I reached for her other hand.

Only to have her push my hand away. She refused to hold hands with me. I was confused, but brushed it off, and ran ahead toward the river.
In the meantime, my mom was back at the house preparing dinner. She offered to cook so everyone could enjoy visiting one another.

After an afternoon of playing outside, we head back ready to fill our bellies. We all sit down and prepare to dive in, when I notice my grandmother making a face. She sniffs and asks,
“What’s that smell?” She then takes a bite only to spit it out all over the table.

Disgusted. She yells,
“This tastes like shit, and my dog wouldn’t even eat it!”
My jaw dropped. I couldn’t believe it! I look at my mom, who lifts her chin and turns to my dad saying,
“Jerry, the girls and I are leaving.” That was it. He could join us or not.
Moment of truth.

My dad was a smart man. He immediately got up and took our belongings out to the car.

You see, my mom is Thai. She has beautiful brown skin. My grandparents were white, and they didn’t like the idea of my mom. They didn’t like having little brown grandchildren.

They didn’t know anything of life outside of their small town American existence. A decade would pass before we would see them again. They were pleasant, but we never received an apology. That is until the last visit. They had ended up in a nursing home with dementia.

They had some lucid moments and some sparks of recognition. It was during those rare occurrences that we received a heartfelt & emotional apology for the way we had been treated. I remember feeling some comfort, but mostly I felt sad.

Sad for all the missed opportunities at having something special. Their eyes were full of regret & resignation.
If your eyes are closed to things that are different, you might one day realize there’s a whole, beautiful world you’ve never even seen. What a shame that would be.