Now that's more like it

Jim:

I had a much better day today – Josh is with me at the Bible House, and all our paperwork has been submitted.

We had an early start – 7:15am. We went to Gola Prysan to pick up the inspector on our way to SB. We arrived at SB around 8:30am and met with Nicolae, the director in his office. While he and the inspector chatted about other issues, some boys were bringing in several boxes of candy and games because it’s New Year’s Day here again (based on the ‘old’ Russian Calendar). Nicholae said he was going to hand those out later. During our meeting we signed the official transfer documents so I could take Josh out.

Nicholae again wanted to make sure we kept in touch. Soon the nurse came in to put her “healthy” stamp on the document. I asked her if there was anything she could tell me about him that I may need to know. She said he’s perfectly healthy, no emotional issues at all. He’s a very nice and kind boy who gets along with everyone. Pretty soon Josh comes in and Nicholae talks to him and again encourages him to keep in touch. I told Josh that I was really sorry for not getting him yesterday, and asked him if he was OK. He said he was, and he didn’t seem upset, so I felt better. We tell Nicholae that I haven’t gone clothes shopping for Josh yet, and Nicholae said that they won’t send him off naked. I thought that was nice of him. I pulled out the 131 pictures I had developed because Nicholae mentioned us sending pictures. He looked at some and so did Oksana and the inspector. The inspector pulled one out of our family with Josh and asked if she could keep it. Of course, I said. The rest of the pictures I told Nicholae were to go to the kids. They were pictures we had taken while we were there, but most were pictures that Josh had taken when we gave him the camera.

I went with Josh to his room to collect his things – specifically the toy soldier that we gave him last summer which he was so attached to. Normally, I’d want to leave any toy for the orphanage, but Sasha was really, really attached to this. I don’t think he let it out of his sight after we gave it to him. So we grabbed that, and then he started pulling clothes out of cabinets, and wet clothes that were hanging to dry. I told him that we were only taking the clothes he had on, plus one pair of shorts from America that he couldn’t part with, and his Ukraine Orphan Outreach shirt. He also pulled out the backpack from the camp, so we used that to carry his stuff, and we put it all in the trunk.

Oksana suggested leaving him here while we ran to GP for the unregistration. I said I really wanted him to come with us, so we loaded up the car and off we went. Tatiana, a teacher/admin at SB came with us, so there were 4 of us in the back seat. As we got in the car, a couple of boys, Costya and someone I don’t know, ran up to wave goodbye to us. While we were pulling out, I saw the other Sasha walking and waving at us. He looked pretty sad – not his normal happy self.

The unregistration went perfectly and quickly. We dropped of the inspector off at her office. I got out of the car and thanked her again for all of her help, and told her how much I appreciated it. She wished us all the best, and wanted to make sure we kept in touch. Next we went back to SB to drop off Tatiana, and I was hoping to get the kids together so we could say goodbye. On the way back, Josh said he didn’t feel good, and he was really pale, so we screeched to a halt and got him out of the car to get some air. We stood there for about 5 minutes until he felt better. He had asked for my palm pilot and was playing with it in the car. Oksana recommended that he keep his eyes on the horizon and not play with the palm pilot while driving. It worked, because he’s been fine ever since.

When we walked into the large room, we were surprised to find every child there, along with a religious group presenting a large puppet show for them (remember, it’s New Year’s Day). So we go to the back of the crowd, and Josh sits with his friends. Once it’s obvious this is going to take awhile, Oksana grabs me and Nicholae and we go to his office again. I gave him the rest of the donations from the Barretts, which he was very thankful for – he especially like the art supplies. Then I gave him our donation and he told me he will use it for major repairs on their bus. He then took me outside to show me the bus. I hope our donation is enough to get it running again. So now we’re outside wondering what to do. I wanted to have some kind of send-off, but we weren’t sure if we should interrupt the puppet show. About then, the show ended, and the games began. They were pulling 2 kids up at a time for a race of moving cotton balls from one chair to another with only your nose with stick glue rubbed on it. I asked Oksana to get Nicholae, who had returned to watch the show. She waved him over and asked if he would interrupt the games so Josh could have his send-off. He gladly agreed, so he asked the lady with the mic if he could have it. Then he asked Josh to join him, but he didn’t want to. I gave him a nudge, and then he went to him. Nicholae announced that Sasha was going to America, and wanted all the kids to say goodbye which they all did in unison. Once again, he encouraged Sasha to keep in touch. Then the leader of the religious group said that they were believers, and they always pray for those who are going on a journey, so she came over and put her hand on Josh’s shoulder, and I put my hand on his other and she prayed for him and for our family. Then I started to say something, so they handed the mic to Oksana. I said I was sorry for interrupting their party, but I really wanted to tell them that we loved them, and we are really going to miss them. I saw Vasya across the room. Earlier he was smiling and waving. Now he had his head down and I couldn’t see his face. I wanted to go give him one more hug, but I didn’t want to embarrass him in front of everyone. We left the room quickly, and Nicholae followed to wish us well. He also gave Josh a kiss good-bye. We got in the car and I could see kids waving from inside the building as we left.

On the drive back to Kherson, Josh almost fell asleep. We got to the Tax Authority building to pick up the forms we had the wild goose chase for yesterday. They had called Oksana earlier to tell her they were ready. When we arrived, they were closed for lunch, though until 1:45, so we decided to have lunch ourselves at a pizza place. Josh had a salad of mushrooms, bread and ham (he said it was really good), and a slice and a half of pizza before he said he was full. But as soon as we got in the car, he wanted the rest of his bag of peanuts. Back to the Tax Authority- we all go in and are 2^nd in line so we wait about 30 minutes. They recognize us from the day before and say, “We’re like Family!” (that’s the 2^nd time I’ve heard that line here). We get the docs, and off we go.

We pick up Ashley and the kids have their first meeting in the main entry hall of the orphanage. They smile and nod at each other, but that’s about it. Pretty much what I expected. It was about the same reaction Austin and Tatum got from Ashley, and I think it’s perfectly natural. We have to find a teacher so we can take her out, so we go to her classroom. Josh asks for my camera because he wants to take a picture of his new sister, but she didn’t share his enthusiasm for that idea, so the camera stayed in my pocket. We get to the Passport office and wait about 30 minutes until Oksana gets in to show our papers. I told Ashley that we were at the Vital Records office for 4 hours yesterday and her eyes about bulged out of her head. Then they tell her that the mayor of Kherson is coming in, so we’ll have to wait until he is finished. I asked Oksana, “Who do they think is more important here? The mayor or my two kids?” We waited another hour. Josh was buried in my palm pilot again, and Ashley’s phone was buzzing every few minutes with a text message, so they kept occupied. I asked Oksana if she could help me get them interacting a little, but she didn’t want to because of where we were. Remember, for the most part, no one talks over here in public places. So I split my time between kids and after 2 hours we’re done. At one point near the end, I went over and gave Ashley a hug and she put her head on my chest. She was tired, but she never complained about the long wait. Just before we left, I sent Ashley a text message saying, “I love you. Dad”. She didn’t receive it until we were walking to the car, but I heard her laugh when she read it. She obviously knew what it said.

On the way back I told Ashley that I’d like us all to talk a little bit so they could get to know a little about each other. She didn’t want to – she said it was study time, which is true. The kids prepare their lessons for the next day in their classrooms – kind of like a study hall. We pulled up to the orphanage, and I tell Josh to come with us and he shakes his head, “no” – he didn’t want to come. I just say, “come on”, and he obeyed. When we get inside Ashley goes into her classroom, but I had Oksana pull her back out. I told them that I was a sad dad right now because they haven’t said anything to each other, and I wanted them to at least tell each other a little about themselves. I said, “5 minutes”, and that we could stay in the hallway. So I started with Josh, and asked him some basic questions to get him talking – favorite subject (all of them, he said), favorite activity (all sports, but soccer is his favorite), what’s he really good at (sports). I asked him what his favorite activity was while he was in Colorado (Playing Austin’s drums and playing video games). He gave several complete sentences so I was happy. One of the things he said, unprompted, was that our house was huge – 3 stories! Ashley added that she like to play the guitar. Josh pointed out that we have a guitar at our house, but I corrected him and said it was a banjo. I mentioned that Tatum plays the flute (but they both already knew this). I asked Josh if there was any other instrument he would like to play. “No, just the drums.” Next up, I asked Ashley her favorite activity (nothing), so I said, “I guess we’re going to be here awhile since you can’t answer the questions.” This got me an eye-roll, but seemed to loosen her up a little. Favorite subject (math), I told her again that I was a college tutor, so I could *probably* help her if she ever needed it. We also talked a little about her dancing. I said that was enough and gave her a double extra strong Dad-hug, and got her to give me the eye-to-eye look again. Then she was off. Josh saw a boy in the classroom that he knew from the shelter. They had met 3 years ago. So Oksana pulled him out. He was probably 12 or 13, and either didn’t remember Sasha or didn’t like being embarrassed like that. So I just said hi, and let him go back to class.

Oksana dropped Josh and I off at the Bible House. We call Kari and talk for awhile. Then Josh and I go to buy some groceries. We jump on a bus and get off near the supermarket. He helped me pick out some meat and cheese, and points to a cake he’d like to have. I veto the cake – I already have ice cream bars in the freezer. We go back to the room and have meat, cheese, bread, and fruit for dinner. We had a late lunch, so neither of us were starving. He took his shoes and socks off to show me that his pinky toes were hurting him – both on the top in the same spot, so I’m sure his boots are rubbing him. I put bandaids on them and decide right then that this boy needs a shower tonight. I show him the soap and point specifically to his feet, and everywhere else. He takes a long shower. Then I gave him his toothbrush and hair brush. He came out of the bathroom with his hair spiked up – he had found my hair gel. He loved it last summer when I’d spike his hair. He crawled in bed and I could tell he was laying so that it wouldn’t mess up his hair. Apparently while I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth he got out of bed and snapped this picture – I found it after he was asleep. Do you think he’s happy to be here?

And then I blogged, and now I’m going to bed. I did manage to be in on one conference call for work.

Tomorrow – clothes shopping. Friday or Saturday we’ll go visit his Babushka.