AUBURN — Tammy and Brent Bilodeau had a detailed plan for their Fresh Air child’s first visit three years ago.

Citlali DeMerced was on a six-hour bus ride from New York City to stay with her host family, who planned visits to the Maine Wildlife Park one day and Funtown/Splashtown another. A trip to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens here and Pineland Farms there.

But the 8-year-old girl from the The Bronx had a different idea. 

“During her first visit, we planned every single day of the week and she was like, “Can we stay home and play outside,'” Brent Bilodeau said. 

“We planned adventures, but all Citlali wanted to do was run in the backyard and swim in the pool,” Tammy Bilodeau said. 

DeMerced, now 10, is coming back in August for her third summer to play in the Bilodeaus’ backyard. 

DeMerced is one of the hundreds of children from the five boroughs of New York City who will spend a week or two with a host family in New England, along the East Coast or in Canada.

Tammy remembers growing up, knowing a Fresh Air Fund host family. The experience stuck in her mind until she had children of her own. 

“It’s been very good for our kids,” said the mother of two. “I think they appreciate things more and I believe they appreciate our time together as a family more.”

“When Citlali comes, she likes to do things that a lot of people who live here take for granted,” said the Bilodeaus’ 13-year-old son, Dylan. “Like looking at the stars and running through fresh cut grass, because they don’t really have backyards where she is from.” 

“It’s very fun when she comes,” Dylan said. “She’s like a member of our family now.”

Dylan did not always feel that way, his mother said.

“Dylan was the most hesitant about Citlali coming to stay,” Tammy said. “He wanted nothing to do with it.” Dylan told his mom and dad he would live with his grandparents during Citlali’s stay. 

“My mind changed really quick,” Dylan said. 

“I would definitely recommend it,” he said about hosting a Fresh Air child. “It opens your eyes to how other people live. It makes you appreciate what you have.”  

“Where Citlali comes from, everyone sleeps in the same room and it’s pretty much the size of our kitchen so it makes you appreciate where we live,” Dylan said. 

Three buses of Fresh Air children will come to Central Maine this summer. DeMerced will be dropped off in Auburn on Aug. 11 to begin her weeklong stay. Children also join host families in July for either one week or two. 

First-time visitors range in age from 7 to 12 years old and children up to age 18 come if they have already been matched with a family previously. 

There is no cost to the child and all host families are volunteers. 

“Citlali went to another family the summer before she stayed with us and it wasn’t a good match,” Tammy said. “She opted to try another family and we are very glad that she did.” 

“Citlali is a good fit,” said Brent Bilodeau, whose cooking is a hit with DeMerced. 

“This is the best chicken ever,” DeMerced said after eating the chicken that Brent cooked on the grill last summer.

DeMerced is Hispanic and the Bilodeaus were hoping for some Mexican fare during her visit.

“No thank you,” DeMerced said. 

Having DeMerced stay has taught us to slow down, Tammy said. 

“When she came the first year, she just had a goal of learning to swim. That’s all she really wanted to do,” Tammy said.

The pools in New York City are crowded and only go up to a child’s hips, she said. “There is no opportunity or room to swim.”

DeMerced spent every moment she could swimming in the Bilodeaus’ pool. “She was so determined and she did such a great job,” Tammy said.

DeMerced signed up for swim lessons when she returned to New York. 

“When she came back the next summer, she jumped right in the deep end and was happy as a clam,” Tammy said.

“It really is as easy as doing the things you usually do,” Tammy said. “There is no reason you should try to impress or be crazy busy.”

“I cry when Citlali leaves,” the couple’s 10-year-old daughter, Hannah, said.

“My friends don’t believe me that I have a sister from New York. Then I show them pictures and they have to believe me,” Hannah said.

“I don’t cry, but it’s very sad when she leaves,” Dylan said. “It’s like losing a member of our family for a year.”

Who: Fresh Air Fund children are from New York City’s low-income neighborhoods.

What: Fresh Air children from 7 to 12 years old stay with host families along the East Coast and into Canada. 

When: Fresh Air children arrive by bus for a one- or two-week stay in July and August. 

Apply: By June 1 to host a child in July and by July 1 to host a child in August. 

For more information: Visit freshair.org. 

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