An Unexpected Meeting……….. A Day Early

Sunday, February 03, 2008

Our last day in Kiev was replete and fun-filled. With Len’s great navigation skills we found our way to the Opera House, St. Sophia’s and St. Michaels. We made our way back to souvenir alley and purchased a small oil painting from the wife of a Ukrainian artist. Had lunch (our first authentic meal – it was delicious! And ended our day at our familiar market for bread and water and a little something sweet.

The arrival at Simferpol was uneventful (thankfully). Pam is doing great flying without her “little white pill” trying to be alert and preparing to set a good example for “you know who”. It’s not really that bad, her mind is on other things… the fear of flying seems to have dissipated for now. The 1-½ hour drive through the rural countryside of Ukraine saddened and provided perspective, as the impoverished conditions were everywhere. It’s amazing what the human spirit can endure…

On our way into Sevastopol, Pam asked Viktor if a drive by the orphanage would be OK and not out of the way… Figuring “seeing” the building would help make tomorrow’s visit less stressful. As we pulled up, another family, Wendy and Chad, from Tennessee, were preparing to leave with their soon to be adopted children, Katya (14) and her brother Andrei (17) to the zoo…… It was nice to finally meet Wendy, as she and Pam became fast friends via email when Gail introduced that we would be traveling at the same time. We visited for 15 minutes or so and then Katya disappeared inside. Next Viktor followed.

He returned saying that they had called the Orphanage Director, Lubov, to ask for permission for us to see Angela. Right here, right now!!! We were shocked and filled with intense excitement. Lubov said she would make this exception but only for 10 minutes and only outside. It was sunny and 45….. an outdoor meeting would obviously have been our preference anyway!

Next thing we knew, appearing through the trees, was our little Angela!

Carrying the birthday card we had made for her, wearing a pink parka that fell below her knees, blue jeans with embellishments & jewels at the cuffs and blue and pink tattered sneakers…… She was absolutely adorable! Pam and Angela slowly made their way to one another and with a simple embrace the connection was made. It seemed as if time had stopped and no one was there but the two of us….. A second later, the three of us were embracing as Len, of course, had been by her side the entire time.

A gentle spirit, tiny, precious, and noticeably sweet, we knew instantly everything was going to be all right. It was amazingly casual and strangely comfortable. She bounced between Pam and Len and Mama Nikolya, her primary caretaker, offering and receiving hugs of reassurance. Our time with her felt natural, peaceful and calm.

We respected our ten-minute allowance and said our goodbyes….. For tomorrow was will visit and play!