Forever Tainted

I remember as a child someone once explained the breeding of pure-bred dogs to me.
I was told that if a pure-bred dog gave birth to a litter of mutts, she could never give birth to a litter of pure-bred pups again.  Somehow, this bitch had made herself "dirty".    I can still remember pondering this as a child.  I had some knowledge of the birds and the bees, but it was still incomplete.   I actually thought that every time two dogs bred that some part of the male was forever left in the female, and that piece would somehow be a part of every future litter.

As a teenager, I had a epiphany while sitting in health class one day that this information that I had held in my head for so long was total BS.   If a poodle and a schnauzer mated they would have adorable schnoodle pups.  But, that poodle could absolutely have pure-bred poodles again.    They just wouldn't be recognized as such by the AKC because, as I said before, the bitch was dirty.   What foolishness!   I was so happy to be enlightened!

When I married an Asian man it was not lost on me that I would give birth to mutts one day.  In fact, I loved the idea.   My best friend from childhood will tell you that I always had a fondness for Asian babies and the way their jet black hair would stick straight up.    When I was pregnant with my first child, I confided in her that I didn't care if it was a boy or a girl but I really wanted the baby to have "Asian baby hair".   And wow! did my wish come true!  DD1 was born with a thick mop of hair and for the first few months of her life we affectionately called her "Don King" because it grew up so straight.    

DD1 at 2 months

Don King

For what it's worth, DD2 was born with the same delightful shock of black hair.

When both my kids were still really young I was at the park with a friend one day.   She was in a philosophical mood and asked me, "Isn't it strange to think that if something happened to your DH, and you married a different guy, a blond guy, that you could have children that looked completely different than DD1 and DD2?"   This question completely stumped me.   And, the answer was that no, I could never imagine having and loving children that looked different than the ones I already had.  

Now, I'm sure this is true for all mothers whether their children are half-Asian, red-headed, tow-headed or purple with green dots.   You love your children, and it is impossible to imagine loving "other" children that don't even exist, especially ones that look radically different than the ones you already have.   I get this.  

But, it also makes me think back to the dogs, the pure breds and the mutts.   A dog that had a litter with another breed was forever "tainted".    I finally understand the inherent truth here.    It's not something you ever get rid of.   It's the secret of the dirty bitch.