Babushka Trying New Things

We were fortunate enough to be able to have my mom come and stay with us for a few months. She was able to participate in our many family activities and attend a lot of kids' performances and competitions. 

Her life was quite calm and relaxing here, but at the same time she didn't have a feeling that it was truly her life and the way she wanted to live as she is still very young and independent. It was a bit difficult for her to be always so dependent on me for driving and for translating. She did try to do her own things and take some classes and attend a few social events, but it was still too different from the life she was used to. After a couple of months, we realized that it probably would be best for her for now to stay in Ukraine as no matter what the conditions of her life are there, at least she is the boss of her own everyday routine and has friends (which is understandably a huge deal). Missing Europe, its relaxed lifestyle, city feel and liveliness, cafes and city squares, made it harder to adjust here, where we on purpose picked a house a bit away from the hustle and bustle and enjoy our wooded country roads. To each their own:) 

So in early June, my mom went back to Ukraine. She'll, of course, come back to visit, and who knows what the future holds, but for now this is where we are at. We are grateful she was able to get to know the kids better.

After Mark's piano recital. 

After Alex's show choir performance.

She finally got to watch Mark practice tennis (she always would see him at his tournament matches).

And hanging out with Katya once in a while:)

We are most proud of her for getting her driver's license in May! She'd studied for many hours prior to taking the theory exam. And she passed it on the first try, which is not an easy thing to do when you have to study in a language you don't speak fluently. Then she only took the driving exam once and passed as well! She, of course, still needs a lot more hours driving to feel more comfortable on the road on her own, but for now we'll take this!:) 

When I tell my mom about how the kids are in and out of the house, playing with friends in the basement and always are doing stuff inside the house like playing the piano and wandering around the house during summer months, she is happy she is not here as it is not something that she is used to any more after so many years of quiet living:) So it's all turning out for the best! But she does miss Pepper, the dog, very much:)

Lyana.