2011, week two

Came to bed and found this little person sleeping in my bed with the lights on.

(Note the stash of bedside medications--and tissues.)

2011, week one

Not a good sign.

When I pulled up to deliver Christmas gifts, I saw this--the new glassblock wall with lots of blocks destroyed. It was a sign of what was to come--I learned the orphanage would be closing in June, the children scattered across the region, and my two dearest girls, the big sisters, both had taken tragic turns on their life paths. One, who is now in an orphanage far away, has become a smoker and "an alcoholic". The other, who is the kindest, gentlest, most empathetic soul I know, had been adopted along with her sister. She's been returned to the orphanage. Without her sister.

The girls who were there that day (only one of the original 3.10 girls, actually) were not in the least bit interested in visiting. They were...harder.

Their wonderful caretaker, who will soon be out of a job, told me about her husband. He recently had open-heart surgery and will be an invalid for the rest of his life. This man built a sauna at their dacha and wanted me to come visit. And now...he can't get out of bed. And his wife will shortly be out of work. And fewer children will be known and loved because of that.

The oldest of my girls from 3.10 are now 15 years old...and have only one more year before they're pushed out into the world. I'd bet that was why they're hardening their shells, not wanting to visit, smoking and drinking.

My heart just broke. Again. And I felt utterly defeated.

lapland

Did you miss it down there in week 51? Here are the pix from our trip to Lapland:

week fifty-two!

We ended the year SICK. Sick, sick, sick. A photo of the humidifier would be more appropriate. Or tissues. Or the bathroom...

Instead is here Christmas eve (store-bought cookies testify to our ill-health) and one from Christmas morning. (I know Christmas eve is really still in week fifty-one...but only by a couple of hours.)

There's nice symmetry in this last picture. The photo in this first post can be seen on the toy bins here. Nice, huh? [I was thinking there was too much visual clutter in this photo, but there only two from which to choose. Later, I realized that this linked the beginning and end of 2010's photos and it seemed kismetal. (That should be a word.)]

week fifty-one

(Okay, that picture above sums up the week. Below are all the pictures from our trip. I'll review it here later. We're both really, really sick and not up to much. In short: this is not a trip for the under 12's.)

week fifty

I love the look on Lexi's face...

...and Thera's face in the midst of this good-bye dogpile of second graders.
(She wasn't the one leaving.)

week forty-nine

both are of Catherine's Palace in Tsarke Selo, Pushkin