Fashion Shows and Atypical Day

Up to this point there have obviously been four adoptive couples at this orphanage. We stand out during morning and evening playtimes, arriving before and leaving after the groups of children, especially last night with the threatening weather. Besides Bill and Susan and us, one couple from Ukraine has been visiting with a girl from Losha’s group, and another Russian-speaking couple have been visiting with a girl not more than a year old.

The rain and storms continued overnight. We lost power briefly at 10:45. Just as we were finishing bed time preparations by the light of the three flashlights we had so cleverly brought along and located, the power came back on. I was up at 7:30 today after a second night of great sleep. John slept well, too, and was even cool enough by morning to pull the blanket over him. The day warmed up quickly.

Today we had decided we would take the clothes along for the boys and try them on for fit. They filled a good-sized shopping bag. When we arrived I went upstairs for Dennis, John went to see if Nick was in music class. Dennis’ room was dark and quiet on the other side of the door and no one answered the buzzer, so I went down to find him outside. At Nick’s room they indicated he wasn’t there, and when he asked “Musika?” the woman said yes – but indicated something was different. John wasn’t sure what it was. We found Dennis outside with his group. Oddly he was upset, but may have just had a toy taken from him by the caretaker. He didn’t object to coming with us, just didn’t seem excited about it. We went to our outdoor stairway in the shade and spread out the blanket. Just as we started changing the first set of clothes a nurse who speaks pretty good English found us to tell us that in 15 minutes Dennis would be going to the hospital to have his heart examined. John asked if I could go with him. She said, “No, the nurse.” We don’t know if she was refusing the request or simply not understanding it. We thanked her and proceeded to whip clothes on and off of him as quickly as we could. The Barney sandals we brought and the new shoes we bought here fit well, as to all of the other clothes we brought to try on him today. He objected most to the denim overall shorts, but that may be mostly because he was tired of the whole process by then. His caretaker came by with his group to take him to get ready for the doctor just as we were putting his own onezie back on. John also called Sasha to ask if this examination was anything we should be concerned about, but he said it was routine every three months.

We went searching for Nick then, since it was after 10:30, with no success. We couldn’t find anyone in his group, so suspected a long rehearsal for tomorrow’s program. We walked around the building with all of our things, stopped in to visit briefly with Bill, Susan and Losha, then saw Dennis with his caretaker and another child out front waiting to leave. This time Dennis was very happy to see us, and raised his arms right up to be lifted. We stayed with him until they loaded up, even took a picture sitting on the nurse’s lap through the window of the ambulance van.

We did another circuit around the buildings, then walked a block to get two Coca-colas. We came back and sat on the benches near Nick’s room in case they finished before noon and came outside. We decided to check in with Oksana – it has been raining in Kyiv since the weekend. At 11:30 Nick’s group did appear and we were very excited to see each other. We went back to the stairway, laid out the blanket and started Nick’s private fashion show. He really enjoyed it, commenting on the beautiful/handsome clothes. Sometimes the only way to get him out of a shirt or pair of shorts/pants was to show him the next to try on. He also enjoyed ripping the price tags off. The only objection from him was the underwear. We aren’t sure if he was bashful about being that naked (doubtful), didn’t like them because they were all white, or was just still really upset that we made him take off the denim overalls. Those were definitely his favorite, but it was just too hot to leave them on. John got out the coloring book and a couple of crayons while I folded and packed the clothes, but the half-hour had passed in a flash, and this time real tears came to his eyes when we told him it was time to go back to his group. He said ‘no’ and ‘later’ more than once. I offered to pick him up, those tears were breaking my heart, but he wanted Papa. His group was coming around the side of the building. We loaded up and took a much longer way back to his room, and with some “1,2,3 Weeeee” en route, he was a happy boy when we arrived.

The time was short, but we got individual time with each, and we also accomplished the clothes-fitting mission.

We had bananas and the hotdogs baked in pastry for lunch.

Back to the orphanage at 4:30 PM. John stopped to use the bathroom first. While he was in the hallway he saw Nick’s group, but not Nick. We went for Dennis first. Up in the hallway was a couple and another woman who did not speak English (John asked). They were Italian and had two suitcases with them. They are likely at the same stage we were on the 17th: waiting for a meeting with the director and to meet one or more children from a referral in Kyiv.

It took several minutes for them to bring Dennis. He was happy to see us. I think he must have just been awakened from a nap and had his bed-head slicked back with water. Or maybe the water was just to cool him off. We all went to Nick’s room, but it was empty. We wondered if it was “shot day” for his group because that is the medical/nursing hallway where John saw the kids.

We went outside with Dennis. Although the temperature may have been lower, the humidity was high enough to have us all sweating and uncomfortable. The ground was still mostly wet. We went to a play area that we’ve never seen used, and is definitely not maintained. The two benches had nail heads coming up out of the wood, and when I sat on one end of a board the other end jumped in the air! We laid the blanket over the bench and gave Dennis some water right away. He still enjoys the “I’ll throw down the toys and Dad will pick them up” game very much. Dennis’ group came to the adjacent play area, but it didn’t cause the confusion like last time. After a while we spread the blanket out on the pavement to give Dennis more room.

At 5:00 John went to see if Nick was ready, they told him “5:30”. Sure enough, when John headed towards his room a caretaker was specifically bringing him to us. He was a happy boy. No tears or signs of pain, just a tiny hole in his left upper arm. Another small group that usually hangs out on a large cement outer entrance landing had to move because of the trench-digging being done nearby. (John took Nick to watch the gasoline-powered asphalt cutter for a little while.) They place a crib in the shade about 15 feet from us. Two children were in the crib, two or three more were walking around. The caretaker brought out cups of water for them. We took it as a cue to hydrate the boys again. Nick was hungrier than usual. He often refuses the cookie/crackers when asked, but today accepted the first time and asked three additional times. He and John also shared a banana later while Dennis and I took a walk. Dennis seems to have the cold now: green-yellow runny nose and cough and just not himself. He seemed tired and got fed up with the toys. I picked him up to go for a walk and he put his head on my shoulder and snuggled right in. He didn’t fall asleep, and when I sat down (on the other side of the large stump the caretaker was also using) he sat so that he could see what was going on. We gave the boys a little juice, and when Dennis finished he coughed/burped/spit up some phlegm, juice and a little bit of cookie/cracker. He felt hotter to the touch than the rest of us – maybe a little fever? When John picked him up to go back to his room at 6:30 he just sagged into his arms for the trip, but then in his room he walked right in with the caretaker. I indicated to her I thought he was warm, but she thought he felt okay. Good.

Nick tried to take the raccoon Beanie with him today, but the cow and the koala have already disappeared into his group’s room, so we said ‘no’. We met his group walking in. We said good-bye, exchanged hugs and kept waving at each other as we left the premises.

We tried to buy some non-white underwear at the department store near our Metro shop for Nick. We had a lengthy and confused discussion with a clerk about the sizes listed on the box – years? kilos? months? We finally got the right size, only to discover we almost bought him two pairs of tights – but they weren’t white!

Macaroni tuna salad and Russian-dubbed television for supper. Tomorrow is Nick’s program. Bill and Susan learned today that since the practices occurred while they had Losha for visits outside, he won’t be participating.

Two of ten days are done.