Never has the meaning of this phrase rung more true. Over the last couple of days, we have witnessed some pretty neat awakenings. Human activity and elements in nature have come out from under the winter rocks and have begun to blossom. We left the country on April 8 and returned on May 8. In that month, everything from the sky to the ground you walk on and everything in between has transformed.
Upon arrival in Simferopol yesterday evening, the obvious difference upon stepping off the plane onto the tarmac is the weather. Although a little cloudy and rainy yesterday, the skies have opened up and the winter nip is no longer in the air. From a full fleece jacket in April when we were here to just a short sleeve shirt says it all. The sun is shining. There is a slight breeze in the air. The once bare trees have started to blossom and the grass has started to green. Overall, my perfect kind of weather...not too hot...not too cool...but right in the middle. The Simferopol Chamber of Commerce should bottle this up and use it in their marketing campaign.
Some funny and laughable changes have occured as well. On our first trip, the driver that took us from place to place was quite reserved and did little talking. A little bit of broken English now and then but that is about all. Now...wow! Our driver is a rather friendly and talkative soul. Doesn't speak a lick of English and thinks we understand Russian like it was our native tongue. It is rather interesting and kind of funny to sit back and listen to him in what he thinks is a two way conversation but we ain't got a clue of what he is saying. The motor of the van we are riding in isn't the only thing going a mile a minute. We "think" we have heard him talk about everything from how he cannot drink alot of vodka anymore for as he gets older he gets more crazy with lesser consumption to how he has a friend my size that he drives around town a lot because he likes the roominess of his van compared to his friends little rinky dink car.
A rather personal tranformation has taken place. On the first trip, having never been out of the country before, I was kind of shell shocked for a good portion of the experience. Everything was new and unknown with an anxiety filled adventure around every corner. This time around, I knew what line to get into at customs...I knew and recognized my way around town a little...we navigated the market as if we owned the joint...and the overall surroundings and culture are not as foreign to our senses. You don't realize how much you miss when your body is in "survival" mode as it was on the first trip. This trip has allowed a little more time to stop and smell the roses, and of course take in the sights of the lovely Ukrainian women!
The biggest transformation though has been the reasons that we had to leave so unexpectedly early and why we are back now. Back in April we were dealt with some pretty upsetting news in the delay of the process. Now in May, we are back to continue the process. From the sadness of having to leave Nastya so quickly to the expected jubilation after a successful court hearing tomorrow, you can only imagine the emotions that are blossoming inside.
We visited with Nastya today, along with her BFF Veka. To our absolute joy and amazement, they had a bag full of gifts for us. LA and I each received hand made cards on notebook and graphing paper with notes like " I love you", "you are special", and "we missed you while you were gone". Drawings of Daisy and celebrations of the Easter season with cakes, dyed eggs, and a cross inked the pages. To feel the love those two gave us today was something pretty awesome. LA and I had a few items for them as well, but to see those two so excited as we opened a precious item that they made for us will forever be ingrained in my heart. If it was for them what it is for us to give them small tokens of our love, their hearts were definitely smiling as we opened our treasures.
Spring has sprung.
Spring brought smiles.
Smiles in spring.
Whatever way you want to look at it or however you want to say it...we are enjoying the pleasantries of this visit in a way that stomps out the unpleasantness of the reasons for our departure. It is with much hope and anticipation that my next blog, tomorrow night, will be one that announces a successful day and and the arrival, in spring, of us officially being new parents.
Until tomorrow...
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