He's not listening to the Oil of Olay commercials

After school today, Jacob asked me, "Mommy? Why are some people brown?"

Fair question.

Me: "You mean why do some people have brown skin?"

Jacob: "Yes."

Me: (thinking smugly to myself, "Easy. I've got this one.")
"Because God made everyone different. Some people have skin like ours, some people have dark brown skin, and some people have light brown skin. And some people have black hair or brown hair, and some have brown eyes or green eyes. Everybody's different because God made us that way. And it's more interesting when we're all different, right? Isn't that nice?"

Jacob: He soaks this information in for a moment, then states matter-of-factly, "I want to be brown."

Me: "Why do you want to be brown?"

Jacob: "Because Nan* is."

Me: (laughing) "Nan has brown hair. Her skin isn't brown...it's like ours. Do you mean you want brown hair?"

Jacob: "Yes. And brown skin."

Me: "Why do you want brown skin?"

Jacob: "Because it's my favorite."

Me: "Brown skin is nice. But our skin is neat too."

Jacob: He looks up, and gives me a cocked eyebrow, "You-don't-know-what-you're-talking-about" look that caused me to flash forward to his years as a teenager. Then he replies, "No, it isn't."

After a good chuckle, my next thought was the voice-over on the Oil of Olay commercials, who breathily advises us, "Love the Skin You're In."

Sorry, kid, but you're stuck with the skin you're in.

And unfortunately, I think Jacob has inherited his mommy's fair skin, so he can't even sport too dark of a tan, which would be his best shot at becoming brown.

We all bear our burdens.


*Nan is my mom, who tans better than I do, but still doesn't have brown skin.