Carolina was referred to me by my old neighbor.  I hired her every other week to deep clean my bathrooms & kitchen.  Let’s be honest I didn’t want to.

From the first time she came over I didn’t know how to treat her so I treated her like any guest in our home.  Sure she was cleaning BUT I felt so guilty I wasn’t doing it myself that I would make her lunch.  The same lunch I’d eat.  I’d have her sit with me and enjoy her company.  I started to find out things about her.  It was nice.

In October of 2011 we got our home.  I couldn’t afford Carolina any longer.  I had to let her go.  I didn’t want to.

A couple of months later around Christmas she stopped by.  She was now working for a older man full time down the street from my home and even on the same street.  She started visiting me most Thursdays while she’d have a break.

How we kept communicating the past almost 3 years is beyond me.  She barely understands English and I know some “bad” words in Spanish but not to get me by.  We made it work though.

She reminded me of my aunt Francine.  Not the way she looked or anything but her love for her God, her faith that he takes care of her.  My aunt died of Parkinson’s disease at the age of 55 and she’s the only other person I had known with so much faith.  It was like maybe Fran was part of Carolina and I just felt so connected to her.

Yesterday she called me and let me know she was moving back to El Salvador.  Her mother had a stroke and needed her.

Today we had our last visit.  She gave me her address and I gave her mine.  I will write to her in Spanish, I will find a way.  Maybe it’s motivation to really learn another language so over time I won’t need to translate from English to Spanish.  She gave me a big hug and left.  She will be missed and I’m looking forward to all the letters in the future.

From hiring someone to help me clean when I found out I was pregnant to a bond is amazing.  I’m so grateful that Carolina was and is a part of my life!