Shto eta?

This has been the fastest three weeks ever. So last week the big field trip was a trip to the NC zoo. Lisa took the day off to carpool. The kids and her had a great time. Little B walked around the zoo taking pictures of everything. Animals, people, self portraits, a helicopter, a trash can...whatever was at the zoo was probably captured on our camera.

Friday night we took the boys to a fun park where they can ride go-karts, play video games, climb through a giant playland, and play a round of mini-golf...did I mention the video games. The boys had a great time 'til the money ran out on the cards. They each got a card preloaded with $5. Back when I was young, $5 equated to 20 games. In today's value of money, this was only 3 games. Needless to say, the money didn't last long. That when it got ugly. Little B was already a bit overwhelmed (I know I was, the assault on the senses is akin to a Vegas casino), when the money ran out on his card he started to get a little emotional. Please take what I say next in context of our situation and what we know about this little guy. He doesn't cry over physical pain, according to him. When he has not gotten his way up to this point, he has pouted for a few minutes and then moved on. This time however, was too much for the little guy to hold in. The temptation that was surrounding him was very powerful. I can see how easy it would be to play on an orphan's situation and take advantage of this weakness. Which is all the more reason these kids need a home with love and guidance. When I saw his reaction to the lack of being able to play and my unwillingness to ante up the needed money, I was both happy and sad for Little B. Sad for the reason above, but also because I too would have enjoyed splurging on all the games (not so much at $2 a game). I was happy for him, because I did see an emotion. I don't like seeing any of my boys in pain, but I also know that if we can't feel pain, we can't feel joy. Well, we made it out of the fun park with our two oldest pouting, and the two youngest happily recounting the nights events.

This week little B went with me to Tyler's soccer practice. When I wasn't helping the coach, I was kicking the ball with B on the side. He and I had a great time and I look forward to next season watching him play on the field in his uniform. Also this week, the kids went to the pool a couple of times. Little B, and the other kids, have the mentality that they can perform dives and flips as well as the next. Not so much. In B's case, it his ability to swim. He didn't let that get in the way of his chance to experience the diving board. Unfortunately for him, diving boards are not placed in the shallow end of the pool, so when he walked off the end of it, he couldn't touch. His ability to stay above the surface is admirable, but not efficient. He went down, then came up. Down, then back up. On the third trip down, a chaperone who was watching the kids "dive" jumped in and assisted Little B to the side of the pool. The chaperone was nervous knowing what she just did for him and witnessed. Little B on the other hand was clueless to the corklike swimming he just displayed and the potential risk. When we get this guy back home, we will be signing him up for swimming lessons.

At VBS this week they watched a movie on the life of Jesus, dubbed in Russian. At the scene of Jesus being nailed to the cross, Little B started tearing up. Again, this is what we want to see from our institutionally raised son. We will work through feelings, reactions, and responses when we get him home next year. I don't want to start a process we can't be there to guide him through.

The big trip this week was to Jordan Lake. I spent the day with the kids, swimming, pushing them (it seemed for hours) on a tire swing, speaking Russian with them, throwing the frisbee, and just having a great time. A couple of people brought their boats and the kids got dragged around the lake on big flat tubes. They were all smiles coming back to shore. While I will hold on to this day for the enjoyment it brought, it was difficult leaving. These kids will be returning to their orphanages tomorrow. The stark contrast between life here and there is difficult to put into words. For one, I have not seen or experienced their life in Ukraine so I will not speculate. But I can imagine.