Stahlke Adoption

Our First Visit

At 11:40 am this morning, Jonathan and I followed Masha through the main door of Mikola's orphanage. After stopping at the front desk, we followed a staff member upstairs to the director's office to talk with her before meeting Kola.

As we rounded the corner close to her office, a small boy entered the hallway from another door. Holding tightly to his caretaker's hand, he stopped right in front of us, looked up and smiled, and greeted us in a firm, clear voice: "Dobre dehn!" [hello, or more exactly, good day]. I recognized him as the little boy we had seen in the SDA photo yesterday: Mikola!

Everyone in the hallway, and especially Mikola, just beamed as we walked into the director's office. Jonathan and I knelt down to talk with him, and he seemed relieved when Jonathan greeted him in Ukrainian. He replied in Ukrainian, "Hello! Are you going to take me?"

Jonathan assured him that we would take him, but that our departure together was over three weeks away. At that time, he would ride a "samalot" (airplane) with his new Papa. "Samalot, samalot, samalot!" he said over and over in delight.

Then he saw photos of his brothers and sisters. "Paul, Adam, David," came the brothers' names first, then "Rachel, Sarah." He pronounced the English names with Ukrainian vowels: Pahl, Ah-dahm', Dah-veed', Rah-chell', Sah-rah'. He was enthralled with all the photos of his siblings. In the family photo, he referred to Jonathan and me by pronouns, since he didn't know our names yet.

Jonathan gave him a small stuffed bear, especially chosen for the occasion (with "Chicago" embroidered on the front). Mikola asked if the bear was his own to keep. "Yes, " said Jonathan, and Kola beamed again.

The orphanage doctor started giving us her report of his medical history, and I reluctantly turned my attention to taking notes. We know from experience and from our adoption research that the first meeting is sometimes the only opportunity to learn about the child's past. So I shifted into business/research mode and took notes as fast as possible. Jonathan continued to engage Mikola, eventually playing catch with the newly-given bear. Jonathan told me later that Mikola also went to the director's desk and picked up the remote-control for the air conditioner. He turned it on, and asked Jonathan to hold up the small Ukrainian flag sitting on the director's desk. The cold air blew the flag and made it flutter, eliciting another cry of delight.

After all the business was finished, the director explained to me that Mikola is one of her favorite children, and she often lets him spend time in her office. She related stories about him with obvious affection, often laughing as she recounted acts of curiosity and inquisitiveness. As she spoke, he continued to play ball, walk around the room, and otherwise engage us. At one point, he tried to attract my attention, but I didn't notice because of my conversation with the doctor. He looked at Jonathan, who whispered to him how he could address me.

"Mama!"
I looked up, and he tossed the toy bear at me.
_______________________________

He called me "Mama" within the first 20 minutes! What incredible joy!

posted by Stahlkes @ 11:48 AM