The only hitch in the plan was that the court made a mistake in the dates, miscounting the weekend, so the decree won't be ready to be picked up until tomorrow. In any case it gave us an extra day to prepare, so she suggested we do our goodbye party for the kids today so tomorrow isn't such an emotional overload, which was a genius idea. So we loaded up the car with the million pounds of grapes I bought, apple juice & 2 big bags of cookies for the kids. We also brought a cake for the ladies, then I had a special gift for Nadia, and the Director. I spent the morning making a card for Nadia & writing a heartfelt letter of gratitude for all she's done for Mena, which I gave to her privately & Natasha translated. She was surprised at the gift and gave me a giant bear hug & when Natasha read her the letter there were tears involved, so I think I did an OK job at telling her how blessed Mena was to have been raised by her and that we would never forget what an important person she has been in her life. I didn't know this but Nadia & Mena actually have the same birthday, so we will always think of her on that day, and I said we'd be sure to blow out a candle for her too.
The kids had a feast of grapes- when they saw the enormous bag, all their eyes were as wide as saucers! Indeed the lady at the market stall was pretty startled as I kept telling her to add more, more, more to the scale! I'm positive she thought I was either insane, or that I just confirmed every legend ever heard about the beast-like North American tourist who eats for pure recreation. In any case the kids were very, very excited! It was such fun watching them dig in & enjoy their treats- so many that they will have a 2 day grape feast! A few ladies came by to say goodbye to Mena, it was really amazing to me how connected everyone is to her- from caretakers in other groups, to assistants, to the cooks- everyone knew her name & gave hugs & kisses. I knew this was a pretty special orphanage, but watching every person want to properly say goodbye & wish her well really touched my heart. It is yet another testament to the passion & love for the children these amazing women have, and how hard the Director works to ensure that every child matters individually under her care.
Before we went in to Mena's group we met privately with the Director to give her the customary donation for the orphanage, and also just to sit and talk for a few minutes, and present her with the gift I bought for her- a pretty china set of espresso cups. She was very touched, and I also got the chance to tell her what a wonderful job she has done with the kids in her care, and how impressed we have been by every person we have come in contact with from her staff. I said that if Ukraine needed an example of a children's home that all others should be modeled upon, it is her facility. She graciously thanked me for the compliment and said she was so pleased to hear that about her staff. She was also very proud that the wife of the previous President of Ukraine had visited the orphanage herself 2 years ago and she showed me a special wooden tri-folding picture of some saints that she was given as a gift. I admired it and said it was very impressive that the First Lady had come to visit her personally. She asked if I had seen any other orphanages while here and I said we had, an unfortunately it was a very different experience, and left it at that. She understood.
I asked if it would be possible to have the dress Mena was wearing the day we met and she said yes of course. That was incredibly nice- I have heard of other parents asking and being told no, even when they brought something new to trade, which I also prepared. So now Mena will have this keepsake too which I am so happy about! She also smiled and asked if we really loved Mena. It was my turn to do pigeon hands as I began to get teary and I said she has become the light of our lives- and every time I think of her I feel like my heart will fly out of my chest. We all sat quietly for a moment, and I believe that the 3 of us were thinking about what a bright future our daughter has in front of her. Then a funny story was shared: When Nadia and some of the other ladies were around, they asked Mena what she thought of her new Mama. She deftly replied, "Well I love my Mama but I don't know always what she's talking about!" Classic Mena!
Really, the rest of the afternoon was spent playing with the kids (it seems 4 plastic Barbie cell phones were found which caused pandemonium- they all made noise to drive a person crazy, Natasha said Mena was pretending to talk to Daddy, telling him she was going to bring him a cake, LOL) and also asking some last minute questions about routines: bedtimes, favorite foods, naps, etc. I also spoke to the Director about one little boy who has captured my heart- with the moratorium on international adoption passed, the future is very uncertain, but there are summer programs where some children are selected to visit Canada to stay with a family for a few weeks, and I said that if this particular little boy could enter this program, we would be very interested in hosting him. He is just the loveliest kid- calm, even tempered, kind, bright, and he gets on well with Mena. I wish we could take him too. He is also 4, but he's more advanced than Mena in language, I think he's probably ready for kindergarten even right now. I absolutely adore him, it's going to be heartbreaking to leave him behind.
So tomorrow we will spend the day running around from court to notary to office to office, and perhaps also to the main town about an hour away to hand in the passport application. Natasha says that best case scenario, we may be able to leave for Kiev right away & that rather than picking up the passport in a few days when it is ready, that perhaps they will allow it to be sent on to Kiev via courier... which would be AMAZING as it would save a few hundred dollars of waiting here when we could be getting on with all the other stuff that has to happen in Kiev before we can fly home.
It is hard to believe, but our time here is really coming to an end. I actually feel a lump in my throat when I think about this, because this has been the greatest experience of my life so far. I have really come to love this country, and to get to experience my own culture and better understand where I come from has been so deeply powerful for me; as well as being united with our daughter. And to do all of this surrounded & supported by the people we have been so fortunate to meet who have been on our side every step of the way... I can't even tell you how lucky & blessed we have been. I go to bed thinking about that, and I wake up thinking about it too.
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