Ring, ring.
Hello, it's me.
Is this Anya? This is Mama.
Yes. (to other people) Hey guys...wait wait...
Anya! Don't talk to other people when you are talking to me on the phone.
Oh. Okay. Sorry.
Anya, are you ready for me to walk over to the neighbor's house and pick you up?
No. Many people goin' Babushka's house and eatin' dinner.
Anya, are Katie and her family going to their Babushka's for dinner?
Yes.
And are all the other kids going home (about 5 or so others that are in their tweens/early teens)?
Yes.
Okay, I will walk over and pick you up.
No. No.
Yes, Anya, I will come get you by walking to Katie's house.
Okay.
Bye.
K. Bye.
Matt to me-
Wait, how did we go from having an orphan child to a teenager calling her mom on the phone like that?!
I don't know Matt, I don't know.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The day started with a trip to church. We arrived a bit early so Anya could talk to her friends and she was hanging out with the 19 year old translator. I followed her outside and she was totally in the teenage mode when she asked me,
"Mama, what are you doing?"
In other words, "You are cramping my teenage style."
Our friend asked where I was sitting so she could take Anya in and seat her. I told her the second row, center area and my notebook was on the chair. Anya is short and we often sit near the front on an aisle or in the second row so she can see.
As is common, I was talking to a friend and noticed the lights were going out and music was starting. I raced to the auditorium and skirted around four people as I zig zagged down the center aisle as fast as I could to the second row. What kind of a mother was I? Was Anya frightened to be sitting alone waiting for me?
No. Of course not.
Apparently, I was fine. She was in the front row, seated next to the pastor's wife, in the seat between the two of them. She sat there the whole time (I was seated directly behind her) and made sure to shake the pastor's hand when he came to sit down. It's crazy, this life with Anya.
About a month before, ten or so of us were talking in a circle, with Anya entertaining everyone and they were all laughing at her. Well, to up the game, she turned to the pastor, who is 6'8" tall and of a quiet demeanor, and began talking to him. She asked me,
"Mama, zhen-shee-na (woman) is kra-see-va (beautiful), what is man?"
"Handsome Anya."
Turning to the pastor, she said, "You are handsome and I love you so much!"
There was a round of uproarious laughter followed by the pastor bending down and saying,
"You are beautiful and I love you so much."
It is always an adventure to be in public with her. Everyone should have an older adopted child to start with. You just put your hands up and look at people like "I just don't know where she gets this stuff." It is very relaxing to not feel responsible for much of their behavior!! With ones you bare, you feel so much more nervous about your kids' odd or not quite socially acceptable behavior.
Here is Anya singing part of "Defying Gravity". I have not told her what the words are. She has picked them out herself. She usually sings more of the words, but it is hard to film her when she isn't looking or when she is cooperative.
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