Becoming the 4 McCaffery's

We've created this webpage for our family, friends, and future adoptive families to follow us in our adoption journey to Kazakhstan to become a family of 4. Thanks for reading, we hope you enjoy it!!

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Thursday May 4th

Sam woke up late this morning at about 0750. He came in to my room with Ian’s plaid flannel pj’s and gave me a sweet, smiling “Mama.” It was nice, but instantly I thought of Ian. I saw those PJ’s and missed my morning routine with Ian; receiving many hugs and kisses and just snuggling for about 5 minutes before he “truly” wakes up. Still, while my mind may wonder throughout the day, I must stay focused on life here in Karaganda. It’s a bit warmer than yesterday, but misty vs. sunny. We’ll take a walk after lunch to get some exercise and waste some time and hope the weather improves a bit. This morning we’ve read some books, used magna doodle, played with the ball and worked on color recognition. He’s also jumped off the couch into the blankets for a bit and while this would occupy both boys for at least an hour a week or so ago, today it only held Sam’s attention for about 10 minutes. I think he really misses having Ian around, even though he can’t express “missing” someone nor can I give it a sign and truly explain the concept to him. The good news is he said he’d give Papa a kiss when we get to Amerik, as he calls it. I also trimmed his hair around his ears, the texture is so fine, Im hoping it will thicken with a proper diet. Those were to highlights of our morning.

Even though it was overcast, Sam and I took a long walk. We always do at least an hour/day, but today we were outside for a good 3 hrs. We took Blvd. Mira in the opposite direction of the TSUM. I found a great building that looked more Middle Eastern or something that could have been out of the Ottoman Empire and another building with a mosaic of Soviet political Art, with the classic Soviet Symbol of the Hammer and the Sickle. Of course this was the day I didn’t carry, my camera, but tomorrow I’ll snap a few for the blog. It’s interesting to watch such polar opposites within a country. On the one hand you have many people who are openly Muslim, covering their head, their style of dress, etc. and then just down the street you’ll have a man openly spit in front of stores or in front of women walking with their children while sipping on an open beer and think nothing of doing so. I’ve also noticed nobody really walks their dog on a leash or cleans up after their pet when need be. We also visited a smaller grocery store, not really a grocery store, more of a corner market, which had some meat that quasi-resembled the deli-section back home and smelled delicious. We also meandered off the main drag to some of hidden alleyways and side streets. I like to see more how “real life” exists in Karaganda and wonder how the older folks think life is now vs. as part of the former USSR. Don’t worry Dad, it’s safe and I almost feel you cringing as I write this!! I’ve never felt threatened or have ever felt scared to walk anywhere in Karaganda. It just saddens me to see all the dilapidated buildings, decaying streets and mini-playground areas in such need of repair and full of trash and dirt in many of the courtyard settings of most of the apartment complexes around time. We found a few mini-playgrounds during our walk where at least 1 of the 3 toys could be used and so we’d play a bit and move onward. The sun popped out during the end of our walk and then I began my quest for a cheap coloring book. I was running low on paper for our crayons and figured Sam could use a new “toy. " I think even Magna Doodle maybe getting a bit old day after day, but not Leap Pad, thank goodness. I thought I remembered seeing a coloring book on Blvd. Mira in a small market/shop, but then I noticed we were close to Trash Park #1, where the boys loved to play, or so I thought. We did find a working swing set and one of those things you spin around and jump on while it’s spinning. A few minutes later a girl around 9 and her father came by. She said hello, in a very strong accent and we said hello back Her father said I spoke English well and I thought to myself I should I’ve been speaking it for 30 plus years and simply smiled. Turned out they’re from Salem, MA. We gabbed a bit and then another American family came over and they’re from Winchester, MA. Turns out this is the same family Tim had met in the grocery store about a week ago. They too, are adopting and older girl, about 8. It was great to have some real conversations and laugh about all the trials and tribulations regarding adoption and life in Kaz for its inhabitants as well as for us foreigners. Tanya, the soon to be daughter of Jo and Agnes from Salem is a sweetie, she loved Vitalik and loved playing and taking care of him while I gabbed with her Dad. Both families also have their bio children with them and we plan to all get together for dinner in the next few days or at least meet at the Trash Park once again.

The day only got better, I found a great pad of paper for Sam with a dog on the front for 30 tenge and he was so pleased! We then saw a Boxer puppy in our courtyard and Sam was very excited but then terrified as it jumped up at him and tried to lick him as all puppies do. I tried to show him it was a sweet dog, but he was not buying it. Speaking of dogs, I miss ours; she’s old, cranky and neurotic at times but she is extremely protective and loyal to our family and I miss her following me around. We were not in the apartment for more than 5 minutes then one of my good friends called from the States, I couldn’t believe it, it was so great to talk to her. Thanks Beth, I loved laughing with you and miss you a ton. Another 5 minutes pass and my Dad calls, just to say hello, as he does each day, which was great and then the biggy, my dear sweet hubby called. It was great to talk with him, but really hard to say goodbye. He’s been busy with Ian, who is doing well, but got strep throat once again and was at the emergency room last night til midnight getting meds, but this morning was up at 0630 snuggling with Daddy and content to watch cartoons. I’m glad to hear despite his sickness he is doing quite well. Not lamenting my departure whatsoever. Sam was in awe to talk to Papa on the phone and Tim could tell his English has improved just from Sunday, so that was good to hear! Sam had a huge smile after he talked to Papa. He thinks the phone is pretty cool. Tim is pretty busy with work and trying to keep the house in order as it’s on the market. Tim needs to report to work by June 30th. We have yet to decide whether I’ll stay with the boys and the hound in Dover until the house sells, or if we’ll all leave together regardless of the housing selling. On the one hand I’d love for us all to be together, on the other, Sam and I don’t get home til the end of May and I’d like him to enjoy the place we’ve been showing him as our “dom” for as long as possible. So who knows, I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it!! Oh, I"ve become a gammer since Tim left. We just bought a laptop prior to this trip and in addition to pinball and solitaire there are these games that you can try out for a bit prior to purchasing and that's what I do to stay sane at night. Again, I'm so thankful for my IPOD!!
Thanks for reading-

1 Comments:

Blogger The Efland's said...

Hey, Sam is adorable and adapting well to you. I am sure that it is hard to be there by yourself. We have been following your journey. We hope to hear something in the next few weeks. Hang in there, the weeks go by quick waitng to hear on a travel date so hopefully they will do the same for you.

9:22 PM  

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