Cover ups

The girls and I went to the mall yesterday to look for birthday presents for Cale. The weekend is the worst time to shop here-not as bad as Wal-mart on a Saturday-but it is crazy busy. Our whole shopping trip was filled with people wanting to have their picture taken with the girls or to take the girls’ picture. At one point Emma said, “Mom, I am tired of everyone treating us like we are celebrities. I just want to shop.” There is such a fascination here with the kids. There is no getting away from the crowds of people wanting to touch them or shake their hand or take their picture. This is probably the closest we will ever get to “celebrity status.” The kids don’t understand it. They will tell me, “Mom, we are just like them, except for our skin.” Sophie totally doesn’t see the skin color difference. If I am asking her to describe someone from her class she will tell me all about them and never mention whether their skin is black or white. Many Indonesians here use whitening cream on their faces to lighten their skin color. It is amazing to me that many of them just do it on their faces. They want to look white but fail to see that from their chin down, their beautiful skin is still black. It is like me whenever I try to cover up a problem by eating, or buying something. Or when I think can cover up a lie with another lie, or use hurtful words because I am in a bad mood. Those things don’t take care of the problem. I have often thought that you can explain about problems in life by using nail polish. It never works out well to cover up old nail polish with new. Well, maybe it will for a little while, but eventually you have to take it off and start over. It is the same way with problems. The more you cover them up, the more you have to take off in the end. If you just deal with them when they arise, then the end result can be a lot less messy-maybe even something you can be proud of.
Rachel