Multiracial Motherhood: Embracing Who You Are
Today, a very special momma is joining us to share about her multiracial motherhood journey. Meghan is the voice behind www.meghanjoyyancy.com where she shares about her multiracial family and talks about how you can find joy in living for today!
Photo Credit: Melissa LeeAnn
Meet Momma Meghan
Welcome to the life of our family of 7! My husband and I met years ago as he played college basketball with my big brother. So, he was the one dating his teammates sister. We dated for 4 short months before getting engaged and we had an 8 month engagement. Our wedding day was almost exactly 1 year from the day we started dating. We got pregnant with our honeymoon baby and about 10 months later, our first daughter was born. This summer we will be celebrating 9 years of marriage and we managed to pop out 5 kids under that age of 8 in those years. It’s been a whirlwind of a glorious adventure!My husbands’ entire family is from Liberia and although he was born in New York, his family is very traditional with their culture and lifestyle. My families heritage comes from Germany and Sweden so my kids love learning about all their of their lineage traditions. Being enriched in the culture of their own blood.
What is something you’ve learned through blending cultures in your family?
To grasp and experience everything we can with respect and gratitude. Beyond what countries our families hail from, but even in the way we operate, communicate and just do life. To be able to have understanding and grace in all aspects of blending family life is so important to healthy relationships. It’s not always easy to do, but it is something to strive for.I tend to be a VERY picky eater. I sometimes even have trouble eating some of the meat I cook myself. And because of this, I believe I have actually hurt my mother-in-loves feelings when she has cooked traditional Liberian meals. It’s not because of her food, but my own ridiculous eating habits that make for some fairly high-maintenance eating habits. At least I can admit that.But I have tried to make an effort over the years to at least TRY the traditional Liberian food. And if anything, I welcome with open arms her wonderful cooking for my husband to enjoy because it is comfort food for him. He grew up with it and so it feels like home for him. And I’m not intimidated or resentful of that. And I also want my kids to be mindful of the different foods and always be willing to try new things.
What is one struggle you’ve encountered?
The stereotypes.The stigma of a black man with a white woman.I will let you mind go where it goes in this. There are so many assumptions.Half-siblings.Gold-digging.Welfare.Foster Care.Control issues.Abusive.“He only likes white women”“She only likes black guys.”Whatever sterotypes you have heard or maybe even witnessed yourself, believe me, we have felt the affects of them. And not like we had anything to prove, but we definitely strive for greatness in all we do, despite the thoughts/words/actions that naturally come our way.
What advice would you share with other multicultural families?
Embrace exactly who you are. Every beautiful woven piece of unity you bring to the table, relish it. LOVE is born in exactly what you have and don’t let the world dull your shine.
Follow Meghan Along On Her Journey
Multiracial Motherhood: How We Celebrate Multiple Cultures In Our Family
I'm very excited to be continuing our Multiracial Motherhood series this morning. So far we've walked along the journey with Sara and Larisha. They've shared a bit about their family with us and what they've learned in raising a multiracial family. Today, Becky from Kid World Citizen is joining us! There family has traveled the world to make sure their kids are raised with a global mindset and today she is teaching us a few of her secrets. 
Meet Momma Becky!
My husband and I met when he was an exchange student from Mexico spending a year at University of Illinois, while I was a student there. I had just returned from a semester in Spain and was matched up with a "buddy" exchange student who I was supposed to show around.From the moment I met Toño at our welcome picnic, we were instantly drawn to each other. Despite huge language barriers, we managed to talk for hours about everything under the sun. It was such a fun semester of studying, dancing, and running together.Thanks to long-distance phone calls, trips between the US and Mexico, and a lot of patience and love, we got married in the year 2000. Our 5 kids have joined out family in different ways. First, we had our 2 sweet biological daughters: the loves of our lives, who make us smile every day... but we knew our family was't complete.
We adopted our oldest sun when he was almost 4, and his contagious, playful smiles instantly endeared us to our playful son. We decided to expand our family again when we adopted Ricky from Ethiopia. An inquisitive ball of energy, Ricky injected our family with a spirit of curiosity. Two girls, two boys, and we were a balanced, happy family--- but we still had this little voice telling us that we weren't complete.As we rode the roller coaster of becoming foster parents, we met our bundle of exuberant, intense joy: Mario. There is not a person who meets him who doesn't fall in love with this little ham.Having so many diverse cultures forming the foundation of our family has been incredibly enriching. We try to celebrate and honor our heritage cultures both in big ways (such as important holidays) and also little ways (through cuisine, home decor, books, etc).
We've learned that in the hustle and bustle of carpooling and swim team, homework and housework- sometimes the easier route would be to let time pass by without a mention of our backgrounds. But- and we are not perfect- we have to consciously try to always make our cultures an integral part of our daily lives by having friends from diverse backgrounds, choosing a neighborhood that reflects our family's cultures, and having open communication with our kids about race, ethnicity, and what it means to be growing up as "x" in the US.My advice to other multiracial families would be to embrace and learn about your loved ones' cultures as much as you can, so that you end up creating your own family culture that is a blend of customs and traditions from both sides.
Finally, if at all possible, travel and immerse yourself to truly learn about your partner's background, language, and really the heart and soul of what makes them who they are. Our family has bonded so much by traveling together, while developing a pride in and love for each others' countries.It's this love and respect that builds us up and helps us support each other.