My husband took Kobi to the park the other day.

The park is one of Kobi's favorite places to go. As they pulled in to the parking lot, Kobi saw the kids playing and started to cry. When my husband asked him what was wrong, he got very sad and said, "I can't play with those kids." My husband asked him why and he said, "Because I am black and they are white. I'm different." Needless to say, we were shocked that he is realizing a difference already.

My husband proceeded to tell Kobi that it is OK to be different, but that he is the same as all of us. It's funny, Mark and I do not see colors or labels in our children. We see our children as 2 young individuals that we love very much.

As you know, Kobi is only 4 and we figured we would have a few more years before we would have to explain the difference to him. He is a smart child. Our daughter, Erica, explained to him that he is not different and why he wasn't different and he was OK then. Like Kobi, she is a wise young lady.

We know that as Kobi gets older he will have more questions and we are prepared to answer them the best we can.

It is hard seeing him get upset because I just want to protect him and I don't want him to have to worry. Getting upset is just part of life though. If we lived in a perfect world, I would be able to keep him happy all of the time with no worries, but we don't. So for now, we will be there to love him and try to keep him as safe as possible.