The One That Pretty Much Covers The Last Couple Of Days...

Dave sez,

Whoo doggie!

It is Thursday morning. Ethan and I have some downtime. He is watching Spongebob, listening to Big Time Rush and working on his English. We are both here in the apartment in Kiev. Together. We have been working for a long time to reach today. I would almost say we have been working on it since January, or since Justin introduced us to Ethan as "Shani! My brother!"; but this is the same journey we have been on from the beginning.

Tuesday, I met our facilitator at 9am at the Novus grocery outside the final station stop on the Metro Red Line. There is a McDonald's inside the Novus. He drove me to the court to pick up the final decree. We got there around nine-fifteen. The judge, usually in at eight-thirty, did not arrive until nine-thirty. She passed the final decree to the Chief Judge, who reviewed the documents. While we waited we talked about the recent US election and the President. He asked if I had had a chance to vote at the US Embassy while I've been here. I told him I had voted early. He was very surprised by that, because Ukraine has only one election day, and if for whatever reason you miss your opportunity to vote, the opportunity is gone and lost. I told him that I had voted before Cathy and I left, that I had found an office where I could submit my ballot early. I told him that we have early absentee balloting in the states, and that I submitted my ballot and it was sealed until election day and then counted.

His son had a question about the legal drinking age in America. So we talked for a few minutes about whether or not it is legal ANY where, public or private to drink under the age of 21.

While we waited we were joined by a young woman with a stack of documents and a ream of copier paper. From his description, she and her husband are French-Canadian, living in Paris and adopting from Ukraine. They chatted about her process.

The Chief Justice finished his review and we received the final court decree at ten-thirty. By eleven we were at the regional Office of Vital Records. He asked if I remembered where we were going and I said yes. He asked me if I remembered how to get there. We had a good laugh at that. Our case was reviewed there, and we received documents that we could submit in Kiev at the city Office of Vital Records. We were coming pretty close to the lunch hour, where most government and business offices that run eight to five shut down and close for an hour lunch break - can you imagine it? - so, we stopped in to drop off some documents at the District Office of Juvenile Services.

Here we went through the security check-point right inside the door, up a couple steps and around the corner to the office where he delivered our paperwork. I waited out in the hall. At the stroke of one, a security officer began clearing the building, inviting people to exit immediately. He looked at me and firmly said something that I did not understand. I did get the tone of his voice and his gesturing, so I got up from where I was sitting and went back to the front door on the other side of the security gate. I waited a moment as my our facilitator returned, and we walked back to his car.

We got to the city Office of Vital Records and only had to wait thirty minutes for it to re-open after lunch. This was where we had the longest wait last year for Justin's new birth certificate. Last year, there was a large crowd and a long line before lunch, and the chief was absent, so we spent the better part of the day just waiting at this office. Tuesday, there were only two other people waiting, and it only took an hour.

By four o'clock we had applied for Ethan's new tax identification number.

All throughout the day, he checked in on other cases he was working on; so, when we finished at the Tax Administration Office, it was near rush hour, we would not have made it to the Notary before it closed at five, we agreed to meet Wednesday morning to do that, and he dropped me back at the Metro station so I could head out to see Ethan, and pick up the DC cord for my computer.

It took a little longer to catch a 507, but I made it out to see him, and we spent about an hour together before I headed back to Kiev for the night.

Wednesday was a short visit to the Notary that only took about ninety minutes to wrap up and I was on my way to see Ethan.

I had the most important form to sign; his release form from the orphanage.

We were able to get his passport photo taken; then we spent some time together before his big, grande final performance.

After he performed with the children one last time, he said "Baka" (Goodbye) to them all and we left. It was very difficult to leave the other children, especially Masha.

Last year, Justin quietly absorbed every thing with wonder. We got on the 507 back to Holosiivska station, and Justin talked with a little girl on the ride, while looking out the back window. We at McDonald's and headed back to the apartment. This year, Ethan was full of questions. When Ethan and I are together - it's a lot like when Justin and I are together - it reminds me of Bill Bixby and Brandon Cruse together in The Courtship of Eddie's Father. Ever couple of seconds I hear "Popi?" "Yeeauh?" We go to bus to Kiev. Yeeauh. How far? One, two, three stops? I've never really counted the stops, so I don't know how to answer that question, but I spent most of the bus ride calming him down. I had given him the fare and told him to give it to the driver and say "Dva." So he did. He waited for the driver to take the fare from his hand rather than setting it on the engine hump like every one else - including me - does.

At the Holosiivska Metro station, I handed him his token and showed him what to do with it.

On the subway ride, he asked how many stops, so I showed him the map and we counted down to Maidan Station.

Coming up out of the subway station into Independence Square we took a couple of seconds to look all around. Then, I asked him where McDonald's was. he couldn't see it for all the lit up signs, so I pointed it out to him. We got dinner and jumped on the Number Eighteen back to the apartment. "Another bus?!" Yeeauh. This is how I've been coming to see you every day...

In no time at all we were back at the apartment, having our dinner. Before bed, he spent the night playing games, listening to my iPod and watching television. He explored the apartment some. He's doing more of all of that today.

We have a kind of slow day ahead of us, so we might head down for lunch at McDonald's or maybe pizza. I'll make sure I do most of the ordering. Last year, Justin ordered a whole extra pizza of his own without me catching it.

It looks like the only things left are to visit the US Embassy for his visa and have his final physical and we should be ready to head home. We are sixteen days away from coming back!