How the week went

This week felt easier, but it didn't hurt that Andrei was home more! His weekly schedule alternates between lighter and heavier workloads, though of course there is always preparation to do for the next time.

I got more breaks, and took a walk every day, sometimes combined with grocery shopping. I got outside more than David did. After the latest (mutual) meltdown, I have not felt eager to venture out together again. I heard someone reference not "cutting corners," and I think that is so crucial with 2 and 3 yr olds. You have to leave lots of time for transitions. You cannot just stop playing and head from point A to point B. There is no such thing as squeezing in a quick activity, because you have to allow time for preparation and then easing out of it. (But of course if you have PLANNED for the activity to kill a lot of time, it won't. ;) )

Another thing accomplished this week was a closet renovation I'd been trying to get done for several months. David watched a lot of TV, and regular housework didn't get done. But it is one of those tasks that will set off a chain of other things getting organized. I will share more about that in another post.

We don't set our clocks forward or backward anymore, so now we are 8 hours ahead of N.Y. time, as opposed to 7 during the summer. However, it has been getting significantly darker, both in the morning AND in the evening! I am sitting here and realizing it is only 2pm...really? When it is overcast, the whole day feels like night! Not too cold yet-holding steady around 40 degrees.

We did host Bible study this week. We try to have it regularly, but cancel when we are sick or when Andrei has to catch up on some work. All-nighters just don't work for us anymore! In our small group we have been discussing the Beatitudes. "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." That fits in well with current events, though I think sometimes it is hard to even mention them out loud. Our church has seen some sorrow this year, and there is more loss to come. But we hope in the Lord.

A City in Mourning

Last week's air tragedy was felt pretty deeply by the people of St. Petersburg. That's the impression I've gotten as I've seen the various posts and interactions that have come up in social media this week. Never-mind terrorism or the fact that the victims were just ordinary people on vacation (or that we flew into Pulkovo recently too). The mood has been more one of mourning.

As I said, I got a lot of these impressions through internet interactions. I didn't go downtown this week or venture beyond our neighborhood, so just by going about everyday life, I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. But bits and pieces started to come together as I saw what friends and acquaintances were writing.

One friend remarked how we (as residents of St. Petersburg) are all just a few links away from knowing someone who was on the flight (my paraphrase). And she went on to share the Gospel, for those who may be thinking more about Eternity at this point.

Sure enough, I did see some connections come up. A graduate of an orphanage that I used to visit posted a photo of one of her peers, who lost her life. I recognized her as a girl I had probably met at the orphanage or possibly summer camp.

Over the past few days I have sat down and gone through some of the news stories and read more about some of the victims and looked at some photos. Some of the tributes are very touching, and even poems have been written. Russian culture is beautiful in that way.

But I had to stop. I don't know about you, but I feel that when mourning, it is important to have SOME information. I needed to know more about what happened in order to accept what happened as reality, and to understand (as much as is possible from the sidelines) the depth of loss that loved ones are feeling. But when it comes to the details of death, or intimate final conversations, or graphic photos (sorry), I feel that it borders on sensationalism, voyeurism. And I don't think we are meant to really fill our heads with horrible images.

The investigation continues, but I don't know if I want to read the news anymore.

Stateside

Our recent trip to the U.S. (which we arrived home from about 10 days ago) had to be timed very carefully, as it interrupted the school year. We also had the following to accomplish:

-travel before mid-October (when David's old visa would have run out)
-be in the U.S. in early October for my cousin's wedding on the West Coast
-arrive in the U.S. sometime before that, to get over jet-lag and get the visa application in the mail
-travel on a day when Andrei would be free to see us off
-be in the U.S. long enough for the visa to be ready, without having to expedite
-avoid arriving in Boston during a Red Sox game
-avoid early morning flights
-have Andrei arrive and fly back with us during a week when he has the fewest amount of lectures to reschedule


So, we did just that. Here is how we passed the time (sorry, can't get photos in order):

Estona-versary

3 years ago on this date (whoops, yesterday) we were sitting on a bus in the dark in an October snowstorm, crossing over the border from Estonia into Russia. David was not yet 4 months old, and needed a diaper change. There are so many things I remember about that trip, and you can read about them in this post if you want some background.

David's 3-yr Russia visa ran out this month, but instead of feeling annoyed at needing to get a new one, I've been marveling over all that has happened since then. And thankful that we decided to do it in the U.S. this year where David and I could be on familiar territory if anything went wrong.

But it didn't.

We actually got the new visa in plenty of time. It was a full 6 days before we were scheduled to fly back, SO anti-climatic.

I will say that a few questions came up, such as David's actual passport expiring in LESS than 3 years, so the need to imply that in the invitation. Thankfully we were able to find some good sources of information (although at one point the English and Russian versions conflicted), since it's been a problem in the past when I've needed to get documents filed and haven't been able to find a family with our similar situation.

So that was our month in the U.S., and now we're back in Russia. Whoops. I guess I need to go back and fill in a little bit! As usual...