So Many Orphans....

Yesterday was a lot of fun while we were out doing things that we take for granted at home. But the cold harshness of orphan life in Ukraine set in afterwards. In order to simplify things, I decided to take Andrey (Chris) back to the orphanage and the rest of the family would go back to the flat. Katia asked if it would be ok if she and Sonya went back to the orphanage too. Of course, I said yes. They had absolutely no desire to be there, but it became apparent that they just did not want to go back to where they call home. Even after I took them to McDonald's (mainly because I needed food to-go for lack of it in the flat), they wanted to hang around so that they could eat with us at home. We had a lot of fun packed into the phonebooth we call a kitchen. We made fun of the way each other said words in English and Russian, and enjoyed fellowship. They stayed with us until it became evident that they would not be able to catch the metro, because it would stop at midnight.

We have met some of Katia and Sonya's friends. They are just wonderful and fun to be with. Their eyes all light up when we ask them to do anything with us. They are so young to have involuntarily had such harsh life experiences. What this rather quiet desperation taught me is just how bad they want a family, or at least someone who they can trust to invest time in them. Sometimes we as parents try to create so many larger than life experiences for our kids. I think all they really care about is being with us....unless we condition them otherwise.

Hmmmmm.