"There Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone".
I've got that song by Bill Withers in my head along with my own version of Three Dog Night's "Odyn (One) Is The Loneliest Number".
Kind of a slow, quiet day here in Kiev. Pretty much a rerun of yesterday. Caught the Number Eighteen to Independence Square. Got an egg McMuffin with a hash brown.
The fountains in Independence Square were drained over the weekend. Yesterday there was a guy pulling the lights out of the fountain that circled the glass dome above the underground mall. There are a couple more fountains on the walk to the other end of the square to the stairs to the subway. Those were empty, too. This afternoon there were a couple of guys pulling the light fixtures out of them, as well. One the ledge around the bigger fountain - the one around the glass dome - there were big grey metal cases. I'm guessing that's what the light fixtures get put into. I'm thinking this is probably a seasonal thing, kinda like when all the Dairy Queens close. The fountains get drained and the lights get pulled in the fall before winter starts and the snows come.
Today was a grey, foggy day. Overcast but no rain. Dank.
I slept in a little later, and got out to see Ethan by 9:30. I found him looking out the window for me in the music room. He was kneeling on the sofa, under the sheer curtains with his face nearly plastered to the glass. There are two gates to the playground outside. One on the end by the orphanage; the other over by a daycare or pre-school that is in an attached building. During the week it is easier to come in that end, rather than walk a block over to the other side. Both gates are locked on the weekends; but since we usually make arrangements ahead of time the orphanage side is usually unlocked a few minutes before we get there, or just as we are arriving. So, Ethan didn't see me come in until I had slipped of the backpack and my coat and I tapped him on the shoulder.
I had surprised him.
I had stopped at the grocery and gotten a bottle of water, a Coca-Cola and yogurt with corn flakes. I gave him the egg McMuffin and water. He still has a cough. I had the yogurt. I sipped the Coke most of the time I was there, neutralizing the yogurt cultures.
He wasn't able to get on the classroom computer yesterday, but today the teacher was able to turn it on and start it and he spent the whole visit playing computer games. After rushing through his English. I'm sure that he will be shocked and freaked out by the rigors and demands of the Newcomers Program when he gets home. There will be plenty of time for him to get over that.
My son, Ethan, is terrible at video games. I mean that in the most positive and supportive way possible. I grew up with arcade games. I had mastered a certain level of incompetence on those. I've never really played much of the home video games. Cathy and I had gotten a Sega game system when we got married. It came with Sonic. We bought Aladdin. Not sure what happened to the Aladdin game cartridge. But, Cathy had a natural ability at both games. Her eye-hand co-ordination made her a winner. I watched as Ethan tried racing and soccer. It doesn't look like he has a natural ability for video games. I've noticed him get to a point where he resets the game. He's mastering Angry Birds. Bad Pigs is a bit of a challenge. he's pretty good at shooting gallery games. But any driving games worry me, because it won't be long before he starts learning that for real. Right now I have no confidence in his steering abilities. But then, I can't steer a video game race car either.
I'm anticipating an argument or two as "sibling rivalry" will soon be moving into my home. Justin is so much like his Mama and Ethan is kinda like me. Ethan's not very assertive, so when the smaller, younger kids come around clamoring over what he's got, he looks to Cathy and me for rescue. There's a point where he has to assert and stand up for himself and say, "Nyet". But it is a fine line between curiosity and disruption.
We spent pretty much the whole day in the classroom. Ethan played video games on the computer and I watched, or read.
Masha was just coming back from school as I was leaving. A little older and in sixth grade, Masha gets back from school a little later than the other, younger kids. She came tearing into the classroom again, today, calling "Popi!" wrapping her arms around me and burying her face into my chest. These are Ethan's final days here in Kiev before he comes home to the states with me for good. As much as I love his smile, it won't be much longer before I have his final court decree and he comes back to Kiev with me. Well get his passport and visa after his birth certificate and he'll have a final physical and we will be on a flight back home.
But, I linger a few extra minutes, until I can see Masha's smile and the twinkle in her eye, before I go.
I don't know what tomorrow will bring. Sunshine. Clouds and fog. Rain. Snow.
I have smiles at home waiting for me. I have a smile with me every day. There is something about Masha's smile that is different from Justin and Ethan's. So, I wait to see it.
Tomorrow, Ethan wants to watch a movie. Tomorrow, back home in America, it is one of the busiest travel days of the year. Please drive safe wherever you are going for Thanksgiving. Make the next few days memorable. Ethan and I will be celebrating our Thanksgiving in December when we come home.
See you soon!
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