"Wait, I'm an Indian?"

Actually, he's Metis, but I certainly wasn't going to try to explain the racist, bureaucratic feeble-mindedness that brought that about.  We spent the afternoon at a park, a water park, a school park and another school park. My ten year old wanted to take his shirt off while we were walking from the park to the water park and I told him he could do that right now if he so desired.  He did and then remarked "people tell me I'm too white". "You are" I said, "it's pretty hard to tell you have Indian in you."

He stopped.  My handsome little guy, with his blond hair and blue eyes looks at me, looks at his semi-tanned arms and overly white torso and says "Wait, I'm an Indian? How?" Ah, the million dollar question.  "Well, you know your great-grandma looks kind of like an Indian" I said.  "Really?" Came his shocked reply, "I thought she was just tanned!" (All year round)...

"But how am I Indian?" He asks again. The story great-grandma tells us is that her grandmother was traded for a sack of flour.  Her grandmother married an Indian and they had a son, who married a white woman who had her. (I could so use "begat" here but I'd like you to follow along :)).  Great grandma married great grandpa who is white.  They had grandpa, who married grandma, who is white.  Dad married me.  "Because you're white?" He inquired.  "NO, just because."

"Is that why I can't talk to Sage? Because she's white?" OMG, I wish I could see the printout of his thought process.  Sage is a girl he fell in love with in grade one and apparently he can talk to other girls without issue but has difficulty talking to her.  Considering it's been four years, you'd think he would have figured out a way.  Or maybe I want him to continue having issues until he's 20.  Probably that.

"So, do I have to marry someone who is white?" Was the next question. "No, skin colour doesn't matter, you marry someone you love" I told him.  "Oh, okay" he says "can I ride Ethan's bike?"

Maybe later I'll tell him he's also Russian, German and Scottish.  That should be fun.