Is that Her Natural Color?

When people see my middle child, their first reaction is almost always the same. They wonder about her hair. Years ago, I might have been offended. We lived next door to another mixed race family who's child was born with bleach-blonde hair and the mom always got the same looks and questions. People wondered aloud if we colored our babies' hair. She was offended. For a while, I was too. It makes you wonder what kind of mom they think you are--one that would but chemicals on a newborn's head to change her hair color! But now it's no longer a shock when they ask what they always ask:

Is that her natural hair color?

 

2011 All Rights Reserved, Bobby Duncan

The genetics are pretty amazing. In order for her to have red hair, she must have inherited the gene from both sides of the family. My sister is red-headed, so we know where it comes from on my side; but my husband is black and the red-headed tendency is not so obvious unless you look at one other feature: freckles. Red hair and freckles go together.

2011 All Rights Reserved, Bobby Duncan

My husband, beautiful mother-in-law and one brother-in-law all have freckles. Beautiful, aren't they?

I found an article that argues the number of redheads will decrease as the races intermingle. But my daughter is an example of how our intermingling races are still very capable of producing vibrant, beautiful redheads.