teaching respectfully

it's been a while since I've posted. Not much has happened. No new home, no new position, no new sewing, no new news. Sometimes that's nice. I really wanted to be in my own space before Christmas but I don't think that will happen. My new goal is by my birthday. Think I can do it by April? It depends on if something comes into the market I guess.

I don't know if I ever mentioned one of my challenges with A was always that he didn't like anyone that was different from him. Be it skin color, political thinking, religious beliefs, economic class, ethnicity, you get the picture. If you didn't think like him, you were wrong. And believe me, there were many things I did not agree with him on.

I have always wanted to expose my children to diversity, of all kinds. Well before I lived with A and knew people really thought that way. Part of why I moved back to the Seattle area was because I grew up essentially colorblind. Not ignorant, but not aware either. I saw people, not labels. Some of that has to do with my parents, but some also has to do with exposure.

I have decided to teach the girls of other religions and beliefs. I am not quite sure how I want to do it, but I know it's important to me to show the girls how to learn about others. I want to make sure to foster kindness, compassion, and respectful curiosity towards others in the girls. I was planning on starting with Judaism. Mostly because being Catholic, we have a shared history. Jesus was a Jew.

I was going to start with Hanukkah but I think I might wait until next year and start with Rosh Hashanah — The Jewish New Year. Take some time to learn more so I can share with the girls better. I was telling my parents about this and my dad asked if I was serious about this and I said "yes, I am" and he has some co-workers that he's going to ask for information for me. I have asked him to make it clear I am not looking for information for conversion, but for compassion and understanding. I am very happy to be a Catholic, in my heart I know it's the right religion for me, even if I don't always agree with the rules, the Pope, or the decrees.

I don't really know why I am sharing this, but maybe someone has some advice, resources, other cultures (I want to learn and share other cultures as well as religions) I should invest time into learning about. I asked one of my friends from Chile to share with the girls and she's thinking about what she'd like to share.