Our First Week Together

WOW -- Nothing could have prepared me for Week 1!

That quiet, lonely feeling I felt every night was transformed into complete chaos!! I'm sure it would not have been such a big adjustment if I already had a child. But going from single and childless to having 2 10-year olds was a pretty major adjustment!

Known for having a house that was always 'neat as a pin', my house that first week was a disaster. Part of this was because we were spending so much time together having fun. And the rest of the time was spent making sure they had good meals, studied their english lessons and had their bedtime baths. I did not watch TV for an entire month!

Aside from adjusting to having 2 children, there is also the 'getting to know each other' phase. Here are these 2 beautiful children. On one hand, they barely speak english. On the other hand, they are oddly independent. I found myself asking them "what would you like to do?" Other host parents shared the same dilemna. I wish that earlier on I had realized, these are just little kids. I tell them what we're going to do. Trust me, they will follow and appreciate it. Don't be shy about parenting them. They will end up loving it more than anything!

Here are some really cute moments from our first week together:

Cute Moment #1: We first meet at the airport

I noticed Alex and Veronika right away as they came up the escalator at the airport. They also recognized me and came right up to me. We hugged and their big brown eyes stared up at me as if to say "now what?". I tried to talk to them and it quickly became very clear that they barely knew english. I then realized how grateful I was for the many prior host families and adopted kids who came to the airport to greet them. I grabbed one of the teenagers and asked him to translate a few key things:

1. Do you have to go to the bathroom?
2. Are you hungry?
3. We'll wait here a few minutes then go to baggage for your suitcases.

Having the adopted children and teenagers at the airport was INCREDIBLE. One of the young girls had just come from Latvia permanently 1 month ago. She knew the twins and knew enough english to tell me what they are like. Every word meant the world. And having the teenage children comfort the twins and speak to them in their language made them feel very comfortable. I was also told that although the twins are from Latvia, their native language is Russian. Many of the latvian children also speak russian.

Cute Moment #2: We must march in step!

As we were leaving the airport, Veronika was holding my hand and staring at my feet. I noticed she was pacing herself to walk in exact step with me, left... right... left... right. I wasn't sure what to make of this - although she seemed VERY serious about it. (She continued to do this through the entire month of hosting. I found it most endearing!)

Cute Moment #3: How much do I owe you??

OK, this moment wasn't so cute. But WOW, was it ever memorable. We were told to bring snacks for the children in case they were hungry after their flight. Once we got on the highway, I offered the twins each a small bottle of water, some saltine crackers and some raisons. Alex pulled $1.50 (American) out of his short pocket and offered it to me. I was so shocked!! I instantly pushed his hand back toward his pocket and said "No, your $$." He continued to try to offer it to me in exchange for their snack. It was difficult to not cry right then and there. Here are these little children who understand if you get something, you MUST give something in return. It was obvious that not much was ever just given to them without a price. This was their first lesson. It's ok. Eat...

Cute Moment #4: Arriving home

The twins were pretty quiet on the way home, about a 40 minute ride north from the airport. They seemed confident and like it was just like any other day. But when we got home, they quickly went from room to room and when I showed Veronika her room decorated in pink rose petals she kept whispering 'glas'.... 'glas'.... I had no idea what this meant, but later found out that's Latvian for Cool! I showed Alex his room and his closet with some 'glas' soccer shirts and he went and hid them. The children may hide things they like. It's their habit, so noone will steal them in the children's home. It took about a week for them to not hide their favorite things. You may want to check between their mattresses for half eaten food. Veronika had quite a stash which attracted a pretty large group of ants one night!

Cute Moment #5: Our first "crack up" together - soooo much fun!

I do have a housemate. His name is Bruce. He was uncertain if he would live in the house while I was hosting. But he decided to stay for the first few days and then decide what to do. Once we got home, I wanted to take the twins on a tour of the neighborhood. We live in the Nancy Creek area and there is plenty of public space. I thought I would show them the pool, tennis courts, little league fields and lake. I love going to the lake and feeding the ducks. I had stocked up on bread so the twins could feed the ducks too. Just as we were about to leave, a thunderstorm set in. I knew it would pass quickly, so Bruce pulled out his guitar and offered to sing a song. Not that he's a bad singer, but his voice can really project. So as the twins and I are all standing on one side of the living room and Bruce is ready to sing and play on the other, I rushed my hands up to my head to plug my ears. Within half a second, the twins followed my lead and quickly plugged their ears. Bruce looked up at that split second and started smiling. I looked at the twins and started laughing which made them laugh too. There we were, all in a row with our ears plugged smug faced. Maybe you had to be there, but it was truly our first defining moment together! I could tell this moment let the twins know they were safe, we were 'glas', and our time together was going to be great!