Well, my battery has about an hour left…the charger works about half the time, and it’s not right now. I think it overheats and turns off…but I will try to get out a bit of what’s been happening.
I am in St. Petersburg right now. Leaving tomorrow night to head for home. I started out last Sunday for Russia and am pretty mixed up in my days and nights. I have only slept about 4 hrs a night if that. Really odd for me; I am usually a pretty good sleeper. But with 11 hrs difference, half a world and meeting a new son, I guess that is going to mess you up just a little. (or a lot!)
So, I flew from home to Minneapolis/St. Paul, then to Amsterdam and on to St. Petersburg. Spent one night and then flew to Archangel. Got there very late and went to meet Alexander the next day. And well worth the wait! He turned 4 on the 6th of December, just a couple of days before I got to see him. I am told one of his caregivers got him a toy truck. I took him a stuffed bear (easy to stuff in a suitcase) and, of course, a photo album of his new family. I also took him a card the Iain had made for him. It was quite a moment to see his eyes as the coordinator with me translated Iain’s message to Alexander and explained it was a card from his brother…he clutched it to his chest with the biggest smile. He drew a picture for me to take home for Iain…it’s a hedgehog and a sunshine. Can’t wait for the 2 of them to meet, although I do not know yet when that will be. Soon, I hope.
I spent about six hours total over 2 days getting to play with Alexander. I also had hours of interaction with his doctors, helpers, caregivers, etc., as they told me all they could about him. He has been in their care since he was 11 months old, so it’s pretty much all he knows, but they feel, and so do I, that he is very well adjusted and on track for his age. I was SO impressed by the faces, the smiles, the tone of the people when they talked about Alexander! I couldn’t understand a word of what they said (it was interpreted for me of course) but I did not need to understand the language to know that they loved and cared for this child and that they wanted nothing but the best for him! They just glowed…what a statement, without words.
We played and laughed and played and laughed. He has a smile a mile wide! They told me it was ok to take pics, so I am going to assume its ok for me to post them.
At the end of the last visit, I know it would be weeks before I saw him again, but tried to just say goodbye as if I would be right back. Very hard, yet he would not understand it if I cried…I know the caregivers will tell him his mama will be there soon and tell him about the pictures I left and keep him from hurting too much. They have done this before and will keep him from wondering with their love. I, on the other hand, will have to count the seconds in my heart until I can come back again…
