Вы, должно быть, шутишь!

Вы, должно быть, шутишь! (You have got to be kidding me!),

Curt here:

Well, this just keeps getting better and better.  We were all set for our court date tomorrow at 1:00, finally after 2 weeks of delays from our original court date of the 8th.  After the initial delay, had another court date on the 15th, but after the Makeevka incident/delay we were pushed back to the 22nd.  The upside was supposedly that Viktor's friend would be back at work last Monday to submit our papers to the SDA so that we could then have our court date on the 22nd.  Plan was for Viktor to get the final document today, take the overnight train to Donetsk and then court tomorrow in Eniakevo.  I get a call about noon from Viktor expecting final details......but this is Ukraine.  Turns out the guy whose job it is to go from the SDA to the Ministry of Social Policy (MSP) to pick up the final paper and give it to Viktor 'called in sick'.  Therefore, it will not be possible to get the paper until Friday.  Now I am just a dumb American, so I ask "can't someone else walk over there and get the paper for you?"  The answer: 'that is not their responsibility, it is the responsibility of that person' (big government at it's finest folks).  I restate the question with the same pat response.  Then I suggest that since court is not until the afternoon tomorrow, how about getting the paper in the morning at nine, and then I will get you on the 45 minute flight from Kiev to Donetsk so we can make our court date tomorrow.  'Well, the person will have to get settled into the office in the morning, then it will take an hour to go get the paper, then maybe an hour to get to the airport, and then the hour drive to Enakievo........'  in other words no stinking way.

I am royally pissed at this point, so after taking a walk with the boys over to where we were meeting Ben and Angela (2 angels by the way) for lunch, I calm down enough to call Viktor back.  He whispers that he is talking to some people right now to try and work something out and he will call me back.  Calls me back in 15 minutes to say that he has convinced someone to go with him to the MSP at 2:00 (lunch is from 1:00 to 2:00) to get the paper, and he will call me back at 2:30.  Phone rings and I pick it up nervously to discover that he saw the paper on the Inspector's (whatever the title is) desk.  It says the SDA cleared us to adopt the boys.  However, the Inspector has not signed it yet, and he has also decided not to come back to work after lunch.  "Can you then get it in the morning after he signs it and do the 45 minute flight thingy?"  'The person that brought me over here today said they could not come back and bother them again tomorrow or they will get in trouble and could lose their job.  We will have to pick it up on Friday.'   Strike six I believe (I have stopped counting).

Now we have to get in the car and drive to Enakievo before the courthouse closes at 5:00.  Anya and Den (2 other angels) get us over there.  Anya talks to the Judge.  To summarize:  No she will not let us fax the signed form tomorrow for the court and then finalize everything Friday when the original is in her hand.  No she will not do the court hearing on Monday or Tuesday, only Thursdays.  In other words, wait another week until some other government worker messes something up so you can wait another week, and another, and another etc.  I feel like I am in a Bill Murray movie....."watch that first step, it's a doozie!" (cheap Groundhog Day reference, but I could not resist).  So, we filed another petition and got a court time for the 29th at 0900.......supposedly a solid time.  The Judge was pretty ticked (not at us) that we have had to change the court date twice now.  She seemed to be nice and sympathetic to our plight.  She even tried to see if there was some way that I could sign Power of Attorney over to Jocelyn so that I could get back home to our kids and my patients, but the law says we both have to be present for the court hearing.  Hopefully, having seen us and our sad faces, it will help us NEXT Thursday so that it is the final hearing.

So, I have called my Nurse to once again shuffle a bunch of patient appointments and surgeries around, and she will take care of it expertly as she always does.  My Mom is back home with Cassie and Clay working her buns off and taking wonderful care of them in our absence.  Cassie and Clay are hanging in there well, but they are very homesick for their Momma.  We are going to try and piece together some sort of Thanksgiving meal out of the available groceries here (I am sure whatever we get will have dill in it).  I will even try to watch a little Football via the Internet if I can.  The way my Cowboys have been playing lately, it may be better that I am not there to see it.  We will try to find some way to pass the hours/days until the next 'proposed' court date arrives, and we will pray that there are no more roadblocks in our way.  We are having lots of bonding time with the Boys, and they are just wonderful, so that is a plus.

Now with all of that said, I must pass on a story from today.  Anya came over early for an English lesson.  From time to time she gives the boys a grivna or two when they do something good (remember, there are about 8.2 grivnas per dollar).  Isaac had amassed 15 grivnas, and Eli had a dollar.  After the lesson, she said the boys told her that they wanted to go buy something with their money.  I traded Eli 15 Grivnas for his buck to even the amount between them, and off the three of them went. Jocelyn and I enjoyed the 20 or so minutes of quiet back at the 'castle'.  They came back smiling, and Eli produced 3 pink roses that they had bought for their Mom.  They had spent all of their money except for 2 grivnas each (Anya said it was all their idea).  What thoughtful, generous little dudes.  Can't wait to get them home.