Trip Two: Day Five

We were picked up today at noon for our visit to the orphanage. Our translator, Y2, also attended. After a quick drive to the court building where Y dropped off some final papers for court tomorrow, we took the thirty minute drive to the orphanage. Our driver was stopped along the way for not yielding to a pedestrian. He paid a fine and we were on our way. Since the policeman stopped four cars in a matter of ten minutes Y2 joked that it was the end of the month. It was funny to think that this is a universal perception of the flurry of moving violations to meet some quota. I have no idea if this is even true.

The yellow orphanage was familiar and as we opened the heavy black door we were asked to wait in the lobby for instructions. We placed our coats in the coatroom and put on the iconic blue booties over our shoes. Y advised that the meeting room was under construction so we would meet dude in the corridor where there was a couch and some chairs. When we sat down we saw one of the other couples we had met in Moscow. Their boy came out first. Then came dude.

Only God knows if she remembered us. She went to N easily and kids were so excited. They said she was smaller than they thought. We spent some time bonding and playing with teething toys. She was very tired and cried a little bit this time (but was soothed easily). She fell asleep about 90 minutes in to our visit and a caregiver took her away. We signed some additional paperwork and went to sit with Y and Y2 to prepare for court. There was a lot to go over and some homework I must do before tomorrow.

The excitement of seeing Dude today is wearing off as I prepare for court tomorrow. It's a closed hearing so we will not be able to share specific details. We were also told to set our expectations that there may be further issues with paperwork and to have a delay in a decision would be quite acceptable. We are getting picked up at 9am; a babysitter will be staying with C and N due to the unpredictability of the court schedule.

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