I was standing in line at La Bagel when my cell phone rang: it was my sister calling from Perm, Russia. I ran out onto Seventh Avenue to hear the news from the orphanage. (Somehow talking to her while people around me were ordering bagels seemed tacky.)

"I saw Sonya today," my sister said excitedly. "She’s smiling a lot, laughing, playing, exploring – and
standing up and walking around with the help of mommy ( me). They said
she recognized me. I’m not sure, but she came into my arms without
tears and started smiling a lot. She enjoyed the toys I brought, licked
and kissed my face. She’s very cute and smiles a lot and
doesn’t suck her thumb as much as before."

We spoke for nearly an hour as I stood on the stoop of a building on Seventh Avenue just off Union Street. I saw a good friend pass and called out her name. "Hey, come talk to my sister, she’s in Russia." Our friend, who was startled to see me, was delighted to get the scoop directly from the new mother herself.

Later when I got home there was a group e-mail from my sister to friends and family with more information about her momentous day at the orphanage.

"I was able to feed Sonya with the caregivers and the other
children. She ate mashed potatos, squash and some sort of ground meat. It
actually smelled pretty good. I was tempted to try it. Afterward we
played and I took her for a stroll in an old beat-up stroller.  Then, I
brought her back and she was ready to take her afternoon nap. I noticed all the other babies were sitting on potties. It was
quite a funny sight. The diaper is apparently for the benefit of
adoptive mommies – I guess she sits on a potty too when I’m not around.
I was so exhausted after my 2 hours with her that I started to wonder
if  I would be able to hack being a mom. I also must admit that I got
little sleep and have lost over 10 hours in the last 48 hours. So I
guess I should give myself a break.

They have begun preparing us for the court hearing. They seem
worried about it – I think they are afraid of authority. Apparently we
have the nice rather than the mean judge ( both women). We are being
prepped so that we say and do the right thing. They claim the agency
didn’t send certain papers when I know they did ( because I see other
papers sent in that particular dossier ) and I have the copies to prove it.  So I
proved them wrong. Yay!

Everyone is talking about the little boy who was murdered by an American adoptive mother. We met the head of the orphanage today ( he
was sick during our last visit. He was kind of creepy looking with an ugly
gold tooth right in the front of his mouth. He barely acknowledged me,
and started talking about the case of the murdered child, and how that
has compromised the entire adoption system. Basically, everyone is
trying to cover their asses – No one here wants to show any
impropriety. They are discontinuing independent adoptions, which sounds
like a good plan since they are not as regimented.  It’s kind of
disconcerting to be reminded of this horror everywhere we go.

The drive to and from  the orphanage was particularly grueling
today – lots of vacationers driving badly. Artur is a great driver – It
takes an incredible amount of concentration to navigate, and pass cars
properly and at over 100mph. It can be quite frightening, but I trust
him implicitly."

I went through the rest of the day with thoughts of my new neice dancing in my head. And worries about my sister driving on those helacious roads. This has been a long journey for all of us. I can’t wait for Ducky and her parents to come home to Brooklyn.