‘What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men …… That is what love looks like.’ - St. Augustine

Saturday, July 03, 2010

Today With D

On the docks downtown,  watching the fish.
The days are going by too fast. She has already been here one week. I would give anything to slow time down. D seems to have been a part of our family forever, and she is already telling us she wants us to be her family 'forever and ever.'  Its heartbreaking to hear her thoughts on the whole thing. She announced at dinner tonight, out of the blue, 'Next summer I will be coming to stay with you forever!' Nastia asked her what she meant and she added 'Well, the director told me that this time I go home after I visit but then NEXT summer when I come to you, I get to be adopted and stay forever and be your daughter!'

I tried to very gently explain that she is here to visit and we do not know what might happen in the future. I explained that it is up to the government what happens, and I did tell her that ukraine wants 'Papas' in the family, and our family only has a Mama. Her response? 

'Well, Mama, just get one!' Wish it were that easy.

Anyway, aside from the obvious sadness of hearing her hope of being with us forever, the day was wonderful.

We played together all morning before I had to wake Nastia up. I had to work today for a few hours, and D stayed and played with Nastia. When I got back we played checkers, and just played games  around the house, taking it easy. 
At night we went to the pet store, as promised, and bought three fish! She named hers 'Zolishka' (Cinderella). Nastia named hers 'Finny', and the extra one I got talked into is named 'белый' (Bailey) because he is white. Bailey is what the word for white sounds like in Russian. Now it's been an hour of the girls watching every little move the fish make. They are glued to the fishtank. I'm soaked from bath time, because D was pretending to be a mermaid and splashed all the water out of the tub!

D watching all the fish at the pier.
Heading up to put her to bed, and then quiet time with Nastia, before I crash myself. Hope everyone has as rewarding a day...

2 comments:

  1. Hi. Just curious, with all the kids needing forever families in Russia, why would they allow those not available for adoption to come to the US? Ugh! I hope I'm not coming across as rude or mean. It just seems like it would create more issues with the kids like Dasha to get their hopes up by sending them.

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  2. Hi..sorry I didnt see your comment till now! You dont seem rude at all..just curious! Even a few weeks out of the orphanage environment is going to be healing for these kids - whether they are available for adoption or not. However, MOST host kids ARE available...and Dasha WILL be, but just not yet. whate better way to find her a family than to have her hee for an extended stay. More people will get to meet her, and...she'll get to learn how to fit into a family. Also, many older children who are almost aging out of the orphanage are hosted, though they are unadoptable, because it gives them an experience of love and support, it gives them a chance to feel special, it gves them the chance to learn some English and learn about another culture...and it can lead to mentoring and support from afar. I know MANY families who support older Russian children financially once they have aged out of the orphanage...I'm on of them!

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