Wait What? I'm in an interracial relationship?

I just had to blog about this amazing and inspirational/ hilarious moment that happened to me today.  Something that I will always and forever remember, something that my grandchildren will hear some day. I won't remember where I was, or why I was there, or who it was I was chatting with, but the conversation and how I felt before and after will always stick with me.





Let me paint you the picture.  The past few days I have been completely out of my normal routine of conveniently waking up forty minutes before work because my commute is literally one minute and thirty seconds away from where my bed is located. Away from my work week, my coworkers, the residents, their families and every other face I see day in and day out.  I was at my RCFE class ( Resident Care Facility for the Elderly) where I am currently in the midst of getting my license.




Since Monday my week has begun with dragging my half unconscious body out of my paradise of sheets and pillows at the ungodly hour of six am, throwing on half the makeup I would normally wear during the week, throwing my hair into a "hey I tried" bun and brushing my teeth while praying that the line at my nearby Starbucks is fewer than fifteen people.




Fortunate for me - and for everyone else " in my way " because its before eight and why the hell aren't I still in slumber land - the past three days I've gotten my coffee, and managed to drive the gruesome commute of twenty minutes to a hotel where these 8 - 5 classes are held. I'll save the details of how exciting these eight hour days filled with title 22 state regulations and drinking enough water to take multiple bathroom breaks are.... and fast forward to this afternoon at lunch.....




So after retrieving our lunches at different near by fast food chains and heading back to the hotel common area before our thirty minutes is over, we all make small talk while we scarf down our over priced unhealthy meals. (which by the way I had a garden salad with fire chicken curry from a bbq spot which was pretty damn good for the healthiest thing I could find). So I am sitting with these two other girls who I actually had been making small talk with after our group projects were finished (and who doesn't jump for joy when there is group projects with complete strangers?) so here's how it went down:




Kron 4 news alert lights up my phone - exposing my iPhone background, a picture of my Fijian boyfriend Kris and I - Couple picture cliché I know -

Girl 1 with nice hair: "Awe is that your boyfriend?"

Me - " Yes it is, we actually met when I first started working at my community"

Girl 2 with statement necklace - "Wow so you've been together for a long time!"

Me - "Yeah quite a long time!"

- insert pause where I wait for the "when are you getting married" question - but then get this........     

Girl 1 with nice hair - " That's so awesome, I've always wanted that, what's it like to be in an interracial relationship?"

RONNIE'S BRAINS RESPONSE  -" Oh no I'm not in an interracia......... OH MY GOD I AM IN AN INTERACIAL REALTIONSHIP"

My response after trying to understand quickly and un-awkwardly what just went on - " It's by far the best thing that's ever happened to me."


WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. My mind put that entire conversation in my back pocket when the doors to the conference room opened and our break was over.


It wasn't until I was driving home where I literally burst into laughter replaying the entire thing..... ten years with Kris and never once did I associate that "title" to us.  Ten years of building a foundation to a relationship together. Of becoming apart of each other's families, witnessing the gift of life, and the sorrow of losing it. Ten years of growing and changing together, enduring the downs and cherishing the up's.... and never once in all those years have I ever given us the title of an interracial couple.


Kris is Kris to me.  His family is my family and mine to him. Yes I have always been completely aware of and at some times overwhelmed with how different our cultures, language and rituals are.. but those differences along with skin color was never ever something that we made a topic, and certainly nothing that was going to stop us from being in love.


I must say until now, I  realized I really needed this random meeting to happen. It took a small talk conversation with two strangers, and a completely different atmosphere to really make me realize how beyond lucky I am, not only to be in a relationship with someone built on just love it self, but to know that I am apart of a culture who loves with out boundaries or blinders... .as we all should.


So thank you Girl 1 with nice hair.


Oh and..... I told Kris about this and he totally brushed it off as nothing, and I was glad that he did.
To him I am nothing but unicorn sneezes and butterflies kisses..... (Okay those are obviously my words ) but you get the jist.



oh and............. I will never take my small commute and spectacularly fun job for granted.

Long live true pure love



-Ronnie