October 4, 2003
Is she a ninja?
Shopping for shoes last night, Trevor spotted a muslim woman wearing a veil. I could see the question forming in his head and I managed to remind him to speak quietly (Trevor has shouting issues).
"Mom, why is that woman wearing a hood?"
I explained that in her culture it was polite for women to cover their hair and not show it off. She believed that if her hair was uncovered people would only think about her beautiful hair and not other things. Oversimplified (maybe even wrong — hey, I'm not muslim), but I was straddling a line between truth and kindergarten-level comprehension skills.
He thought for a moment, then got a big smile on his face.
"They're right, Mom. I'm not wearing a hood and I'm thinking about my hair, RIGHT NOW!"