Trip 2 - Day 3

OK, so I must admit that in addition to missing my sweetheart for the many reasons I do - I'm now even more appreciative of how darned efficient she was on Trip 1 in updating this bloody blog and managing photos so well! I get impatient with the clunky upload speed and will likely scale down the size of a number of photos that need to be added for both this trip and the remaining posts we've yet to publish as I had left the camera in Oleg's car... miss you Cher!

So today, Wednesday, ended up being one of the longest, most difficult, and as is so often the case, most fruitful of days in Ukraine. Up at 4:45 a.m. to meet Oleg and Gledhills for the roadtrip to Kyiv, I readied Ashley and Shaun for their morning alone at the apt until Masha was to arrive at 10:30 to take Ash for a mani/pedi. (I came to later find out they woke up at 7 and took the bus to visit their step sis Ira - wanting to wake her up - clearly they adore Ira and I'm glad to see how important she is to them and vice versa and we'll encourage them to remain in contact.) So we loaded up the car for Kyiv with all of Gledhills stuff and hit the road - again Oleg pushing his poor Suzuki SUV as hard as it would go passing like a madman and making it to Kyiv in sufficient time for our 10 a.m. appt at the Embassy. We were met by our facilitator Natasha at the Embassy and so good to see her, having not seen her since Cher and I first arrived in Kyiv on last trip. She and Oleg coached us regarding the paperwork and then sent us into the Embassy (they don't accompany) and we went through more forms, more signatures, etc - very helpful staff and comforting to see a large map of the US in one of the offices as we entered.

Once we completed the Embassy appt, we got the fanTastic (think Nacho Libre Nate) news that Shaun/Ashley's passports were complete in Sumy and Oleg and I had to race back to get them before the office closed at 5. This was an incredible turnaround and something we didn't anticipate, so we called an audible and decided to race home, get the passports, get the kids and head back to Kyiv so we could make our medical and remaining Embassy appointments before Friday morning. The original plan would've had Oleg and I taking a leisurely drive home for another night in Sumy and then drive back to Kyiv on Thursday. We both agreed that this blessing needed to be capitalized upon (essentially ensured that we'd be able to have everything done prior to the weekend, as opposed to the very real possiblity that it could extend into next Monday/Tues...) so we hugged Gledhills and hit the road, making a quick pitstop at Oleg's house. While home, my amazing Cher arranged to get a large quantity of gluten free food for Oleg's 6 year old son Leon who has autism. We dropped off the food and I was able to meet both Daniel (8) and Leon and we wolfed down a quick bowl of borsch (I truly love this stuff) and were off, racing the 2 lanes to Sumy that have become so familiar. I continually joke Oleg about letting me drive as I genuinely feel bad for all the hours he's logging, and I really would like to help, and he always jokes back, "Oh, Matt... it's OK" For those that know my infamous driving record, I've posted tickets in nearly all of the western states and have even thrown in some New England hot spots like Vermont and New Hampshire just for fun - so why not add Ukraine to the list! Well sure enough, on the way back from Sumy, Oleg got pulled over again (he got a ticket on our first day with him when Cher was here). Bless his heart - I asked him if the officer had any idea of the kind of benevolent work he's involved in, and in true Olegian fashion, he downplayed it and told me not to worry.

So we got back to Sumy just in time to get the passports taken care of, finalized some things at the bank (model of efficiency...not!), I took a quick shower, packed, got kids situated, had final meal at upstairs pizza joint across from apt, bid adieu to Lena (stepmom) and Ira, and Masha and just like that were back on the same road, approximately 14 hours later, back to Kyiv. All told, the distance we drove was about like driving from Salt Lake to Los Angeles, but the vast majority on curvy, bumpy two-lane hwys with all manner of crazy distractions and complications lurking around each curve, whether it be slow trucks/vehicles to pass, herds of cows, ducks, gees, chickens, the sauntering bike riders... this was work. The above mentioned ticket slowed our progress by about 25 minutes and I believe we rolled into Kyiv at about 12:15 a.m. Bravo Oleg on a legitimate 19 hour day. Oleg dropped us off at the same apt Cher and I stayed in on our first trip and it felt good to be in a place I've got down. We got moved in and Ashley decided to take the bedroom (no A/C) while Shaun and I crashed in the living room on the rollout - not surprisingly he loves A/C. Also cute to see his eagerness to take another bathtub (he calls it a jaquzzi, though no jets) - this was 2 nights in a row and evidence that they're such ragamuffins at the orphanage for the most part because their showers are so hammered (and they have no tubs). Oleg is to pick us up tomorrow at 8:30 for the kids' medical appointment, next step in finalizing their Visas. Will upload photos tomorrow.