This is the story of my life so far: 68 years and counting.
Prequel: A Brief History of my Family in France
The story starts here
Previous episode: Part 76
Family life with our two daughters in Brest
When Roseline and Betty arrived from Haiti in Brest, in June 1985, their bedroom was ready with two beds.
One of the first things we did was to buy them some clothes.
We also got them some toys. We tried to avoid electronic toys with batteries, and bought toys that would not be broken too soon.
One of the toys that I remember was the Fisher-Price rolling telephone, that had been designed more that 20 years ago, but was still very popular, at least in France.
Fisher-Price rolling telephone
source
As it was still June, we put the girls in school for the last month. They probably did not learn a lot, but they were able to socialize and speak with other children, and not only to us, their new parents.
I believe that they learn a song then that they sang from time to time for a long time, and that they still remember it 33 years later.
Un petit indien, un petit indien
Nagawika, Nagawika
Chantait gaiement sur le chemin
Nagawika, Nagawika
A little Indian, a little Indian
Nagawika, Nagawika
Was singing cheerfully on the trail
Nagawika, Nagawika
In three months, Betty had improved tremendously in French, and we were able to have a conversation with her without a problem.
During the summer, we went to the Abbey for several weeks. Roseline and Betty met my parents, Paul and Marie, and several of their cousins.
Over the years, they will spend many vacations at the Abbey with my parents and their cousins, and they still have fond memories of these sojourns.
When my father died in 1998, my brothers and sisters and me, we had to decide what we wanted to do with the Abbey that we had inherited. One possibility was to sell it and share the money. My daughters were violently opposed to this: "You cannot sell our childhood!".
Continue to Part 78
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Summary
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8
Part 9 - Part 10 - Part 11 - Part 12 - Part 13 - Part 14 - Part 15 - Part 16
Part 17 - Part 18 - Part 19 - Part 20 - Part 21 - Part 22 - Part 23 - Part 24
Part 25 - Part 26 - Part 27 - Part 28 - Part 29 - Part 30 - Part 31 - Part 32
Part 33 - Part 34 - Part 35 - Part 36 - Part 37 - Part 38 - Part 39 - Part 40
Part 41 - Part 42 - Part 43 - Part 44 - Part 45 - Part 46 - Part 47 - Part 48
Part 49 - Part 50 - Part 51 - Part 52 - Part 53 - Part 54 - Part 55 - Part 56
Part 57 - Part 58 - Part 59 - Part 60 - Part 61 - Part 62 - Part 63 - Part 64
Part 65 - Part 66 - Part 67 - Part 68 - Part 69 - Part 70 - Part 71 - Part 72
Part 73 - Part 74 - Part 75 - Part 76
