Lili si Gelu in Ucraina /
Liliana and George in Ukraine

Salut!

In primul rand vrem sa va multumim din nou pentru incurajari, sfaturi si pentru faptul ca impartasiti din experienta vostra de parinti. Ne ajuta foarte mult. Vreau, de asemenea, sa va multumesc celor care mi-ati adresat urari si ganduri bune de ziua mea.

Despre noi, ce sa va spunem? Cred ca am mai capatat si noi ceva experienta + sfaturile voastre + cooperarea lui Vladut din ultimele zile = suntem bucurosi. E uimitor cum poti trece de la o stare la alta, de la intristare si neputinta la bucurie si incredere in sine. Pana la urma toti, copii si adulti, suntem fiinte umane si traim sentimente variate in situatii diferite. Pot spune ca ultimele 3 zile au fost chiar foarte bune. Vlad n-a mai avut decat o iesire acum vreo doua zile, dar care n-a durat prea mult pentru ca am stiut sa-i distragem atentia cu altceva si de data asta a mers. In general, Vlad e mai ascultator, mai cooperativ si intelegator. Incercam sa evitam plimbarile prea departe de casa, asta in cazul in care simtim ca nu i-ar conveni ceva si ar putea incepe un episod, sa venim repede acasa unde toti ne simtim intr-un loc safe si comfortabil. Oricum, mergem ca si pana acum la jocul de joaca din spatele blocului unde lui Vlad ii place mult si deja are cativa prieteni. Ne intalnim cam de fiecare data cu aceeasi copii si parintii lor si lui Vlad ii place sa se joace cu alti copii. Ii plac si copii mai mari. Intr-o zi erau cativa baieti (probabil in clasa a 4-a, zic eu) care se jucau cu mingea si Vladut a intrat in jocul lor, plin de fericire. Unul dintre baieti chiar a renuntat sa mai joace fotbal cu prietenii lui si ia acordat o atentie speciala, dandu-i pase lui Vlad. Am petrecut in curtea scolii (care este chiar langa locul de joaca, care se afla de fapt in curtea unei gradinite) mai mult de o jumatate de ora.

Acum 2 zile ne-am reintalnit cu Arina si parintii ei, Alessandra si Massimo, cuplul italian care au adoptat din acelasi orfelinat. Ne-a facut mare placere tuturor sa ne revedem cu ei si sa petrecem 2 ore impreuna. Vlad a fost tare incantat s-o revada pe Arina, sisa, cum ii zice el. Chiar s-au tinut de mana, s-au imbratisat si s-au jucat impreuna. Am hotarat sa pastram legatura cu ei si atunci cand vom ocazia vom incerca sa-i revedem, fie in Italia, fie in Canada, mai ales ca copii nostri, dar si noi, avem un lucru deosebit in comun.

Si in privinta mancarii, Vlad este mult mai bine. Cred ca s-a invatat cu gusturile si acum mananca aproape orice ii dam. Ne bucuram si din aceasta privinta ca s-a indreptat. De asemenea, cand este ora de culcare, imi ia mai putin timp si nici el nu se mai impotriveste asa cum o facea acum o saptamana. Dupa ce citim povestea, stingem veioza si se "cuibareste" langa mine. Sunt momente in care nu adoarme imediat, dar cam in 15-20 minute, e adormit. Victorie!!! Intr-un cuvant, lucrurile au luat-o in directia buna.

Singurul lucru pe care il mai asteptam este sa vina medicalele lui Vlad de la Viena si sa luam viza, iar apoi sa plecam acasa. Am incercat azi din nou sa sunam la Ambasada Canadei din Kiev, dar ni s-a spus sa sunam iar dupa ora 2:00 pm. Vom fi insistenti cu telefoanele si daca e nevoie Gelu va merge acolo in caz ca nu primim o confirmare pana maine. Doamne ajuta ca sa rezolvam si sa plecam vineri spre casa.

Pupici,

Lili, Gelu si Vlad

STIRI de ULTIMA ORA

Acum 10 minute am primit e-mail de la ambasada cum ca au primit medicalele lui Vlad de la Viena, deci maine mergem sa luam viza. URAAAAAAAAAA!!!

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Hi,

First we would like to tank everybody for the encouragement, advises and sharing you parental experiences with us. It helps a lot.

What to say about us? I think we started to gain some experience + your advise + Vlad's cooperation from the last three days = made us happy again. It's amaizing how one can changes feelings, from sadness and frustration to happiness and self-confidence. In the end, all of us, childrenand adults, are human beings, and have various or contradictory feelings in different moments. I can say that the last three days were really good for us. Vlad had only one hysteria moment, which wasn't even long because we knew how to distract him from that situation and have him calm down faster than before. When we considered that he was ready to listen and before he forgot what has happend, we explained to him why it was dangerous for him to do what he did and what could have happened. We tried our best to explain and show him using some Ukrainean words and gestures and he was looking at us curiously seeming that he understood. He did not repeat that. What a relief!! In general, Vlad is better now, he listens to us and tries not to "break" what we told him (I am not sure if this is correct in English), became more cooperative. We are trying to avoid the walks too far from the building, just in case he might have another episode we are close to home, so we go to the apartment where we all feel safe and no accidents will happen. We are still going to the playgroung behind our buliding where Vlad likes to play and he already made some friends. It seems like the same people (children and their parents) are coming there and Vlad enjoys their company. He also loves to play with older children. The other day he involden himself in the soccer game that the kids were playing, running around after the ball and laughing loudly. One of the boys even quit playing with his friends and paid special attention to Vlad, passing the ball to Vlad, who was very happy. We spend a good 1/2 h at the soccer field, which is next to the playground where we usually play.

Two days ago we arranged a play date for Arina and Vlad. We invited to our place Alessandra and Massimo, the italian couple who adopted from the same orphanage. We were all glad to see each other and Vlad was really excited to see Arina. They even held hands for a little while, hugged each other and played together. We exchanged addresses and phone numbers and would like to keep a friendship with these wonderful family, especially because we have such an important thing in common.

Also Vlad started eating better; proably he got used to different food tastes and now he eats almost everything we cook. We are glad that he also adjusted his bed routine to his previous one (from before the crisis). It takes less time now to put him to sleep, so after taking a shower (which he absolutely loves) and reading a story, he needs about 15 to 20 minutes to fall asleep, without arguing anymore. Victory !!!:) In one word, the things got better again.

I left the best news for the end: the medicals from Vienna were received by the Canadian Embassy in Kyiv, so we were told that we can get the visa anytime. We prepared all the forms, and tomorrow George will go to the Embassy to get Vlad's visa and the reserved tickets from Delta airline office. Hooray!!!