Dearest Dima,
My heart is heavy today as I know that this is the last time we will see you until the court date. Our paperwork went in to Kiev without incident and we also filled out the application to petition the court as well. So everything is moving along. There are a number of holidays coming up in May and it is our plan to be done with court before the holidays so they can pass during the 10 day waiting period. Because of holidays, if we do not get court done on the 28th of April, we will be moved all the way to the 7th of May. Then the 10 day waiting period will kick in. I was worried before that you would be 22 before we got over here - now I am worried that I will be 72 before I get home! But, Sasha said he was 80% sure that we would get court on the 28th. So, let’s hope!
The other problem that is facing us is the fact that the State Department of Adoptions has moved offices in the government - not physically, but in terms of hierarchy. They used to allow 5 days to get the court permission back, but now with the change, they have 10 business days. Sasha is hoping that it won’t be that long, but again, we really can’t be sure.
So, back to the day. We have decided to travel to London tomorrow as G3 needs to go into his London office. He had saved up work overseas to do for a while, and we are closer here than at home. I know it makes good sense, but I don’t want to leave you. I have grown accustomed to our daily visits and will miss them terribly. I know that soon this all will be a distant dream, and in no time once we are home it will seem like you have always been there, but for now, all I have are these small visits to sustain our relationship. It doesn’t seem like enough. I also worry that you will fear that we are not coming back, but I promise you that we ARE coming back. I will be counting the days until we return.
Anyway, enough maudlin meanderings! This was the first day that we arrived at the orphanage without Sasha, so we weren’t quite sure what to do, but there is a nice security guard that is always on duty that took us under his wing and got us to the visiting room and signed in appropriately. Today we were excited to hear that your soccer game went well, your team won 1-0. It seems like your foot is better. You weren’t limping as much today. We worked on flash cards again today and I am so proud of how good you are getting with your English. I can tell that you are really motivated (and we sweetened the pot by promising you a computer once you know English pretty well). We met one of your friends today, a lovely young lady, who gave us a picture and seemed very nice. Several people came into to see you as we were working with you and they all seemed very nice. It is hard not to get jealous of these interruptions, as we get so little time with you, but on the other hand, everyone seems to want to check us out and make sure we are appropriate parent material for you!
As for the name problem. We had brainstormed and asked all our friends to brainstorm and had come up with a list of about 20 possibilities. None of them were really clear winners, but we all agreed upon Dimitri Alexander Gardiner, Nicholas Dimitri Gardiner, and Alexei Dimitri Gardiner. Those were the current frontrunners in our book. So when we saw you, that of course was the first thing we asked, “Have you thought about a name?” Without any hesitation you answered, “ Alexei Dimitri Gardiner.” So, that turned out fine. Done deal - you also said that you wanted to be called Alex - so now I guess this blog will become Dearest Alex?
And now what are we going to do with Alex? He is going to be ticked off!!! Especially if we call him old Alex! He still feels 16! So maybe Alex 1 and Alex 2? And I wonder how hard it is going to be to break the habit of calling you Dima? Well, when we get back, we will have to see what your preference is and try our best to do it.
So, after all to short a time, Sasha arrived and announced that since we had a name we had to hurry and make our petition for a court date. We were bummed - not wanting to leave you of course! We said good-bye and made sure Sasha told you that we were coming back for court. I hope you understood that and don’t harbor any misgivings! In our hearts, you are ours - even if we need a piece of paper to make it official. I think you are recognizing it to, you now regularly call me mom - but every time I hear it - I turn into a little pile of goo. Pretty soon I will be a shapeless mass of maternal sentimental feelings!
After doing the court paperwork, we came back to the apartment to visit with Sasha a little before parting ways the next day. He is on his way to Ludansk (sp?) to look into some paperwork for another family, while we are driving to Donetsk to catch the first leg of our trip to London. We peppered him with questions about all kinds of things - the court date, the 10 day waiting period, the visit to your grandmother, etc. Poor guy - but he rallied and we made some tentative plans, everything hinging of course on the court date.
I finished up the night by doing some laundry, packing your bags (which we will leave here), and packing our bags for the trip. I must admit that even though it has only been not even 2 weeks - it feels like it has been a much longer trip. Maybe the emotional component makes it so trying? But it has been very tiring so far. And I have probably a month more to go!
Counting the days until we get back,
Bethany, G3, G4, & Amanda
Proud Papa!
Here is a picture of a market about a 2 block walk from our apartment in Mariupol.
Here is a picture of a restaurant we have gone to a few times. I feel guilty eating pizza here halfway around the world, but we have also eaten a lot of local foods. And we were just craving a pizza the other day. They have really, really good pizza and delicious risotto.
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