Gift of Innocence
November 16, 2018
I recall the time when my family migrated to Toronto over 30 years ago. I was 8 years-old. I made friends with the local neighbourhood kids and happily played with them for hours every day.
I have a memory of being a teenager and looking back onto old photos. When I came across a few photographs of myself linking arms with my old friends, there was a realization on my part:
“Wow! How did I not see colour before?! Kasia was Polish, Reena was Indian and Seham was Iraqi and I didn’t even recognize their ethnicity or how different they were from me at that time.”
This is one of the gifts of childhood innocence. I’m thankful that my parents also encouraged play and interactions with all kids regardless of their ethnic background, colour or religion.