When we lived in Brazil, my husband brought a puppy to our house. He was a black with a white list the neck to the belly, we put his name Braddock.
Our children Maxwell, Grace and Pamela, loved him a lot. He grew up very fast, his bark was very strong and beautiful. The people were scared of him. He was a dog who protected our house and the family, He was very intelligent too.
He jumped and broke the wooden gate at the front of the house to see the dog from the neighbor’s house.
One day, my daughter Pamela of 5 years old left the house and crossed the street alone, and I was on the sidewalk, screaming to her, wait for me, where was she, because that street is very busy until today. In the same time the bus was running down the street, and hit the Braddock, while he was running across the street following my daughter. He runned to our house, and died. We suffer a lot, But Pamela suffered more.
We decided to move to Japan, we were thinking it was the best for our family, because Brazil was very difficult. When we arrived there, the children went to the school near our apartment, they went alone to school . There was a calm and safe place to raise our children. I and my husband worked a lot, My son Maxwell took care of his sister and wet to school too,
Pamela was 9 years old when wanted another dog, but in that apartament we can’t have any dog. When Pamela was coming back home from school, she found a puppy in the street, she took him and brought it to the house, and she hid from us. When we heard puppy crying, we were looking and found the puppy on the back porch of the apartament. We explained that she couldn’t be with him, she was very sad, and agreed to find the owner for him.
My son Maxwell had a dream to come to the United States to learn more music, and my daughter Grace dreamed of knowing America. When my husband and I knew it, it was very difficult to decide to move to the U.S., because our dream was to go back to Brazil. As we were thinking more about our children, we moved to MA. United States.
Here we had to start all over again. The kids went to school. We had work and a church to go. After a few years passed, when Pamela was 17 years old, again she asked for another dog.
We gave a puppy to her on Christmas day. She was very happy, He had dark brown hair, a good puppy, very friendly and calm. She put his name Nick,
Now he is 13 years old, and his hair is light brown
Pamela got married and left him with me and my husband. It is good because all my grandchildren come to our house and play with him.
We love him, Thank God for giving Nick to us.
All winter my husband likes to make snowmen. He plays with my granddaughter, cleans all the snow off the sidewalk, and helps the neighbors too. For him nothing has changed this winter, only for me. Because of the pandemic, I stay at home all winter. I don’t go to school, and I don’t go to work. This year I love spring more than ever.
All the seasons are beautiful, but I like spring more than others because the leaves of the trees and the flowers come back again. After the winter, it brings me happiness, because I can go outside and see how wonderful spring is, and all the plants coming back. I can see all the things that survived the cold, the birds coming back and I can hear their songs.
I start to put seeds of the Parsley, hot Peppers, Oregano, Basil, and some different flowers in the little pots to grow. When the temperature is warm, I want to plant in the ground. Last year my husband made a box for herbs,I planted the Lavender and the Rosemary, I hope they come back again. Every spring I plant some flowers like Sunflowers, Zinnias, and Cosmo. When the flowers bloom, a lot of bees come into my garden.
Since March 2020 our life is different from other years because COVID 19 arrived in the world. It was very difficult for us to change all things. We needed to stay home for many days, now we are using masks to go anywhere. It is difficult for all people. Also, to many families this time is wonderful.
This time is difficult because many people have lost their jobs and their family members. We can’t be together with other people. We can’t meet in person. Schools are closed, and this is not good for the children. This is hard for my family. The children miss their friends and their classes.
Everything is new for me. I have a new job. I am taking care of my grandchildren. For me, this time is also wonderful. I am having more time with my grandchildren than before. The school started giving English class on Zoom. I don’t have to take the train to go to school. It has been very good. I can continue taking the class at home. This is a gift for me because I am learning to use a Chromebook.
Now people are working remotely, they are happy, they can take care of their children, while their kids can’t go to school. The technology is very important at this time. This time many sad things and good things have happened. Things are changing and we need to adapt with a new system. thank God, all things are in his control.
In the summer we like to go to Boston Community Park. There is a beautiful place to go with family and friends. There are many things to do and see. I like to go there with my husband and our grandchildren. They love to play in the park, the pool and picnic.
We went there by train, because it was better than going by car, so we didn't have to worry about parking, and we also did something different with them. When we got there, I put a sheet on the grass to sit and picnic. I brought some sandwiches of ham and cheese, apple juice, water, some fruits, strawberries, apples, grapes, and snacks. The children played in the playground, grabbed the branch of the tree and walked around the square, took peanuts to feed the squirrels, entered the pool, and when they were tired, they finally sat down and asked for ice cream, so I said, “Let’s go, then we can find an ice cream man.” They were very happy, because they love ice cream. My husband and I were very happy to see our granddaughters happy.
In 2020 we had a different Spring and Summer, because of the Covid 19. How we used to do every year with my granddaughters, it was impossible. So we decided to do everything in front of and behind our house, only for our family.
Our daughter Pamela was pregnant with her baby Samuel, but she decided not to have a Baby Shower, because we can’t have a lot of people in our house for a party. One sister from the Church had a beautiful idea to give a surprise to her, doing a Baby Shower on Saturday, May 9. She didn’t know what was happening. The sister from church and her daughter quickly decorated the front of our house. When they finished, they asked my son-in-law to bring Pamela outside to pick up a package. At this time, all friends and sisters from church passed by in cars in front of the house honking their horns. My son and my granddaughter were across the street talking with a megaphone ( "Pamela, where is Samuel? ") When she saw all the cars stopping fast, delivering gifts to the baby, she was very moved and wept emotionally. This beautiful surprise was wonderful, it will be forever in our memory. Thank you God in a difficult time. You have blessed us with caring and loving people. They made our daughter’s heart happy and ours too.
Another day we celebrated mother’s day in the back yard. My husband, our son and son-in- law made a barbecue, because we couldn't go to a restaurant to celebrate it.
Every church service was closed for two months, we had meetings live on Facebook until the Church was open. When the church was opened, only twenty five per cent could be in the service. The other people were watching online. We needed to keep social distance, all the chairs were separated, disinfecting each service, and masks were used all the time. We are missing many brothers, sisters, and kids in the church. We are waiting for our life to return to normal soon.
Everything is a new experience for all families in the World. We could learn to enjoy new things, everyone has learned how to have fun in this time of the pandemic.
We didn’t go to Boston Common, in the Summer, as usual. We went to a new place, Rodrigues Farm, in Berkley. It is an amazing place to go with your family and friends. There are horses, ponies, goats, dogs, chickens, pigs, trees, a playground and a big space. My family and a group of brothers from the church went there to see the new place and had a wonderful time. My grandchildren rode horses, slid into the water, and joked. It is open only in the Summer, on weekends. We can stay there all day, and have a picnic, or barbecue.
I am taking advantage of this opportunity, to have quality time with my family. I am very grateful to God for always taking care of us.