Morning with my Gran Papi

I saw Ofane sitting on the patio waiting for Noty to clean and change his foot dressings.  I sat with him and we talked together.  He was telling me he needed a few things for his house.  He needed a lock for his toilet because he went to use it and it was dirty.  (In Haiti, one’s toilet is not in the house.  It is outside and others may use it and not keep it as clean as you would like.  Many people cover their toilet and put a lock on it so others don’t use it.)  I gave him a padlock for his toilet and he was so thankful. He also said he needed some Fab (laundry detergent powder) and soap to wash his clothes by hand.  I told him that I had more macaroni (Ramen noodles) for him and he asked for more powdered juice packets.  I love Ofane.  I call him my Papi.  He is like a grandpa to me.  He brings a smile to my face every time I see him.  

I watched Noty re-bandaged his foot and saw how Ofane helped her.  He would open the packages of gauze, squirt the wound cleaner on the gauze, and squeeze the antibiotic cream tube.  What a little helper!  Every once in a while he would look at me and make a silly face!

After getting all bandaged up, Ofane needed to wait for Jonas to come back in the Kubota in order to get a ride home.  I asked if he wanted to come sit on my porch with me.  He was grinning ear to ear and loved that idea.  He was a little hungry, so I brought him a peanut butter sandwich and a freshly blended mango-banana smoothie.  Yummy!  We sat outside together in our hand-made chairs.  They are made out of banana tree leaves. 

I asked Ofane if he knew how to play Dominoes.  He said, “Mwen remen!”.  He loves to play Dominoes.  I brought out a tin of Double 6 Dominoes and we arranged our bench in front of us like a table.  We each took 7 dominoes and started playing.  Playing games with him reminded me of playing games with my grandparents.  Ofane is like a Gran Papi (Grandfather) to me.  We sing together, talk together, dance together, and make goofy faces together.  We are both looking forward to playing more games of Dominoes.

Ofane is the kind of man who brings joy to others.  People light up around him.  He is expressive, smiley, and full of energy!  In his presence, one feels special.  He loves people for who they are.  Ofane is one special man.  He has taught me so many lessons about what it means to live in each moment…to cherish those around me…to love.