I forgot a Key Post
Just reading through this nice new format on the blog, I realized I left out an important day or two I wanted to pass along. After the 10 day wait for the court approval of the adoption, you have an opportunity to get the children. There was some concern about my taking Samuel home to downtown Kiev. I took this as a slight, which was kind of arrogant. They were thinking of my best interests. Having Samuel downtown in Kiev in the apartment was so difficult. He would not watch TV, nor play with toys, nor eat most of what we tried to feed him, and for entertainment, he would stare at the washing machine. The days dragged on, until I called Igor and asked if Samuel could return to the orphanage for a few days. Igor, always nice, said "no problem".
But this is besides the point. The day before our embassy appointment, we were running between a police station in Kiev and another government office, and a notary service at breakneck speed. Poor Igor and our attorney,Victor were running ragged, and Anya and later Samuel was with us for the whole day, and the kids were so sick of everything. I remember being at the government office until after 6:00 pm and finally getting their sign off so we could go back to the Police Station for a final sign off...none of which I understood. I still remember being amazed that Igor could ask the Police staff to wait for him to get the final sign off, so we could go to the embassy.
During that day at the government office, which dragged for hours, we ate lunch with Victor at a local restaurant. Victor always looked fresh and alert, and he was always pleasant to talk to. You don't appreciate it at the time, because you are so mentally and physically exhausted, and they understand that.
All of this reminds me of a time several weeks earlier when I thought they should be moving faster on our stuff. I was ignorant of all the machinations Igor and Victor had to go through to get the other adopted families through the Ukrainian system. While at the police station, I met a man from Italy, with his two potential adopted kids, who'd been in Ukraine four months, who could not get the Police staff to see him. Igor knows people and gets things done. I truly felt sorry for the man, but upon reflection, I feel worse that I thought Igor and Victor were going too slow for us. They were going at breakneck speed for all of the families.
But this is besides the point. The day before our embassy appointment, we were running between a police station in Kiev and another government office, and a notary service at breakneck speed. Poor Igor and our attorney,Victor were running ragged, and Anya and later Samuel was with us for the whole day, and the kids were so sick of everything. I remember being at the government office until after 6:00 pm and finally getting their sign off so we could go back to the Police Station for a final sign off...none of which I understood. I still remember being amazed that Igor could ask the Police staff to wait for him to get the final sign off, so we could go to the embassy.
During that day at the government office, which dragged for hours, we ate lunch with Victor at a local restaurant. Victor always looked fresh and alert, and he was always pleasant to talk to. You don't appreciate it at the time, because you are so mentally and physically exhausted, and they understand that.
All of this reminds me of a time several weeks earlier when I thought they should be moving faster on our stuff. I was ignorant of all the machinations Igor and Victor had to go through to get the other adopted families through the Ukrainian system. While at the police station, I met a man from Italy, with his two potential adopted kids, who'd been in Ukraine four months, who could not get the Police staff to see him. Igor knows people and gets things done. I truly felt sorry for the man, but upon reflection, I feel worse that I thought Igor and Victor were going too slow for us. They were going at breakneck speed for all of the families.
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