A Week Later: Reaching to be Held!

Sasha left at 2:30 to catch a train. I know because I got up to lock the door behind him. I wasn’t sleeping great anyway. Is it the new surroundings that make me clumsier than usual, or do I just not notice all my bumps and bruises at home? Back on arrival day in Kharkov, I banged the back of my calf with my very heavy backpack while getting off the train. That bruise, almost three inches in diameter, did indeed turn deep shades of purple, etc. Fortunately all the skirts I brought, and of course the pants, cover it. Now all that remains is a violet crescent. Yesterday I tripped over shoes in our room and into the stroller and banged up my right little toe. It HURT!!! I found an empty ice cube tray in the freezer, so had to wait for ice. It was pretty achy last night, even propped up on the folded blanket from our bed. Now that that has improved considerably, I was reaching under a raised sandbox to retrieve a ball and bashed my skull on the sturdy metal covering used to shield the children from the sun. (It is high enough for three-year-olds, of course.) No blood or anything, but certainly a valid reason to pick up and eat much more dark chocolate, yes? After all, it is full of anti-accidents, right?

Back to the boys. We were even a little early today, but at Dennis’ room the woman who answered the door indicated that they were “na oolitza” (literally ‘on the street’, i.e. outside) already. I gave her my passport. We stopped by Nick’s room, but it was dark and quiet and we could hear the music class upstairs, so we headed outdoors.

We found Dennis’ group without a problem. He was carrying the Pooh-bear ball we had given him the very first day. After greeting the caretakers and Dennis, John offered him an index finger, which he has taken readily before – but he lifted his arms to be picked up! Yea! The caretakers and I exchanged the thumbs-up sign and smiles. We found a bench in the shade, but over the two hours had to move to another bench in that area and then back again to avoid full sun exposure. The boys were shirtless and Dennis barefoot.

After the usual first half- hour, John went to find Nick in his room. His favorite honey-bee hat wasn’t in his locker, so he instructed Papa to get it down from over the other lockers, and made sure he brought the right one. Then he insisted they go look for Mama at Dennis’ room, even though Papa tried to convince him we were already outside. He got the idea when nobody was there. I got my hug when they reached us – such a delightful embrace!

Dennis figured out how to blow the bubbles today! I don’t have any idea at what age that should be expected. I know some kids manage to blow out the cake candles on their second birthday, but Dennis actually held the wand a few inches from his face and produced a few bubbles! (This bottle hasn’t been very bubble-bountiful, even Mama and Papa have some trouble getting them to work.) I was way impressed. The bubbles also led to his first temper tantrum with us, and almost all of the vocalizations we have heard so far. When we brought out the bubbles a second time, he insisted on putting the wand to his mouth and tasting the soap – again and again. Mama finally took the bubbles away and he went off into the weeds loudly protesting. He didn’t go too far, and when the sound diminished a bit I went and rescued him. I know the children all get reprimanded frequently, I don’t know how often they get rescued or comforted. No more bubbles, but I did give a half-cracker, something that does belong in the mouth.

Still the same toys. Nick continued to deepen a hole in the dirt he started a few days ago. He poured the dirt various places, after showing me each well-filled large stacking block. He also wanted to be near me with the coloring pages, although he also wanted to be sure John was paying attention from the other bench. His naughtiness was all reserved for the walk back to his room after dropping Dennis off: hitting, pinching, laying on the floor. We sat him down on a chair en route and insisted on an “I’m sorry, Mama”, before continuing. He tried to insert something other than “mama”, we didn’t understand, but held in there until he said “mama”. Back at his room all was forgiven on both sides and we said good-bye with hugs and “patuum” (later).

We tried to find a shopping mall at the Metro stop beyond our usual, but it was so hot, and all we saw were very expensive shoes, so we walked home and crashed. We did pick up three wieners in pastry on the way (a little more than $1 total). An easy lunch.

John packed the touch-and-feel kitty book and the small airplane for the afternoon. Once again we were a little early. When they brought Dennis out he looked a bit dazed, like he had been sleeping, but he reached up to me and came readily (and I was all smiles). The woman who brought him out is the one who brought Dennis up the stairs the first time we saw him, the one who said he was “excellent” and gave us the thumbs-up. John asked her name: Katya.

Nick was waiting just inside the door when we came to his room. Outdoors it is sometimes hard to know where to settle. We don’t know if the various groups of children have assigned play areas, if they rotate, how close they can be to us, etc. We started where we were yesterday afternoon, where no groups had stationed themselves because the men were digging trenches so close (I think). But just after we settled on the blanket a large group of children came, and they stopped short and joined the group right next to us. We decided to relocate because it was a bigger play area with lots of equipment, and the new group was older and larger. (When we went by later the two groups had stayed together. I think it gives the caretakers a bit of a chance to visit with other adults, too.)


So we laid the blanket out on a grassy (weedy) area that we hoped would stay protected from the sun, but we did have to move once and near the end I sat where I could shield Dennis. (He had shoes this afternoon, no hat except when he “borrowed” Nick’s.) Dennis sat himself down on the blanket and was content to play with the toys there. We tickled each other under the nose with grass that had gone to seed. Nick was a bit cranky, hitting everything with his water bottle, pulling at my earring, throwing crayons. I had some rambunctious play with him, still seated, blowing raspberries into his belly, turning him upside-down, etc. John was shielding Dennis from the sun. He later settled down to sit in John’s lap and color for a very long time. Great photos. They ended the afternoon throwing, and crumpling, paper airplanes.


When we took Dennis back I carried him, and he put his head down and held on to my shoulder. Nick clearly asked Papa to carry him, too, so he did! Since it wasn’t quite 6:30, we sat on the couches upstairs until it was time. Nick didn’t quite understand why, but he was willing to sit with Papa and delay the return to his own group. The same caretaker welcomed Dennis back. She commented (by gestures and with approval) on the resemblance between me and Dennis, and John and Nick. We agreed: very good (in Russian). On the way to Nick’s room, he resumed the “1-2-3-weeee” game we had started earlier today. It requires a hand from both Papa and Mama. We had him repeat the numbers, going as high as seven, in English. We had to find his group outside when the room was empty. He was perfectly happy during the search, until it ended, and our day was ended. Tomorrow it will be “das vadanya” for two long days . . .

We rode the Metro back with Bill and Sue. They continue to have good visits, too. John and I stopped for ice cream at McDonald’s (too economical to pass up, tasty, too!). Sue went off to work out, Bill had to go back to their facilitator. We had tuna salad for supper, John cooked while I typed. It was good, light, cool meal, and also tasty!

Sasha from Kyiv called to check on us today. All is well at this end!