I’ll protect you Mommy

Thump, thump, thump, it’s 6:30 a.m. and someone is chopping wood outside. It’s already light and I hear Jayden calling so I decide to get up. I pull on some clothes, get Jayden dressed and then fry some bread in a skillet so we can have peanut butter toast for breakfast. As soon as we’re done, Jayden grabs his crocks and we head out the door. It’s once again a beautiful morning. Birds greet us in the surrounding trees, the breeze plays with our hair and the sun warms our skin. Since the incident with the bull and the turkey the other day, I’m not sure if I want to walk the trail again, but Jayden has other ideas. He searches around for a little while until he finds the largest stick he can see. It’s three times his height! With all his strength he pulls it along and then heads for the trail.



The trail is so beautiful; I don’t need much persuading to join him. “Let me carry that stick, Jayden,” I say to him, but he holds on even tighter. I help him lift it up in front of him and he walks along proudly. In Tarantula forest, I find a smaller stick and offer to trade with him, but he refuses. Determinedly he walks up front, brandishing his large “sword”.



Mr. Grump, the turkey sees us coming, but when he sees Jayden’s large stick he backs off. A minute later we meet our next obstacle. Moonbeam, the bull calf, nicknamed that way because of the moon shape on his head, is waiting on the trail for us.



“Go, go, shoo, shoo” Jayden shouts brandishing his stick. At first, Moonbeam doesn’t move, but as we come closer and he spots the large stick, he ambles off in the opposite direction as well. Relieved, I walk on. Mixed emotions swirl through me. This is one of our last mornings in Pignon. Tuesday, February 17, we hope to return to Port-au-Prince and set up our home there. Although, we’ve faced a variety of challenges here, I’ve really grown to love the village and I know I will miss it. As we walk the trail, I vainly try to memorize every detail of our early morning walks.