Finalist Essie Green
ESSIE GREEN WITH HUSBAND WALTER, DAUGHTERS LAQUILLA AND SHANIKA AND THREE OF HER SEVEN GRANDCHILDREN.
come naturally to her all her life, in raising three daughters and then raising three grandchildren when her eldest daughter, Freedom, was tragically killed in a house fire. Her grandchildren were 4, 5 and 10 years old when they came to live with her and her husband Walter, and their other daughters were 15 and 19 at the time. Faced with the unexpected challenge of raising children a second time while all grieving the loss of their mother, Green worried she wouldn’t be enough for Tony, Tashiyla and Essence.
“I wondered if I’d have enough energy and patience,” Green recalls. A revelation to her then and still today: she had more. The beginning was the hardest, especially as friends who’d already raised kids and were in different stages of life drifted away. Perhaps because she had already navigated the road before or she was older and wiser, Green felt blessed by getting to do everything twice — from attending basketball games and back-to-school nights to chauffeuring the kids to their various activities. “I took a lot of pride in them, and in the back of my mind I was thinking ‘their mom would be so glad they are getting to do all these things,’” said Green. Green is also quick to credit daughters Shanika and Laquilla with playing games and taking their nieces and nephew on outings so Green could focus on making meals, helping with homework and the rest of the day-to-day operations. “Laquilla was in basic training in the military and she came home and fell right
Essie Green is the epitome of a caregiver. The mom of three and grandma of seven has worked for the last eight years as a full-time personal caregiver, providing her often isolated, elderly clients a sense of normalcy and comfort. Daughter Shanika, who nominated Green, says her mom gets her joy from helping others. “I enjoy making a difference in people’s lives,” said Green. In her career, Green gains just as much as she gives, currently learning to make a quilt from her 94-year-old client. Green’s intentionality in serving others is apparent as she ensures that same client, who once loved to garden, gets to stroll outside to enjoy the blooming flowers. Though Green spent most of her professional career in finance, the caretaking role has
“I took a lot of pride in them, and in the back of my mind I was thinking ‘their mom would be so glad they are getting to do all these things.’” Essie Green
14 METROFAMILYMAGAZINE.COM / MAY 2020
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