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| Noah & Geronne today |
I always felt weird having help in my house. I was embarrassed about it. I would get mad at how awkward it felt. I couldn't ever come to a peaceful way to feel about being the one that gets to afford to have a helper/housekeeper.
Geronne could never get why I would refuse help sometimes, it was too complicated to ever explain and our paradigms didn't allow us to ever get each other totally. We are the same age, but we have vastly different life-experiences.
In 2006 Geronne worked in the kitchen at the first organization we worked with in Haiti. That is when we met her. In 2008 she took our job offer and moved to Port au Prince with us and helped with the kids and did the best housekeeping work ever in the history of mankind.
Back in 2006 Noah was newly two and he was all about white rice and bean sauce - he went to the kitchen where it was being prepared for several hundred kids and he made sure he had his bowl and spoon ready whenever it was possible. Geronne always thought that his love of Haitian food was the best thing about our family. She thought Noah was the smartest of the whole clan.
She was so genuinely happy that he came with me on this trip. She cooked for him and spoiled him and made sure he got to eat all the foods he loves. It was touching to see how deeply she cares for this boy she met 14 years ago.
Today she asked Noah if he would make it back to see her in the next year. She hugged him tight and sent him off with rice and beans to go.
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| 2 year old Noah |