Riding for Relationship

Sophia got a new bike!  

Her first “real” (made of metal) bike. This is a big event in our house - - Papa is a bike guy, making his living selling them and spending his free time riding them fast, down-hill!

To be honest, I was a little nervous when we took her out for her first lesson.  I wanted everyone to be happy - Sophia to learn, enjoy, and GO FAST!  and Anton to enjoy teaching and watching his daughter succeed at something he loves so much.  

As we headed out to the Square, the first lesson began . . .

“keep your feet moving around . . . push, push down . . . 

watch where you’re going . . . 

keep your feet moving. . . don’t stop pushing . . . 

watch out . . . 

stop . . . 

turn the handle bars . . . 

keep moving your feet round and round . . . 

don’t stop, 

keep going  . . . “

It was so easy for her to get distracted.  

At first, this really frustrated me . . . I mean we were all so excited about her new bike and wanted her to have fun and learn . . . but Sophia kept stopping and running to do something else - like climbing up our old Smolensk canons.

Or running up to a little girl and asking, 

             “What is your name?  How old are you?”

Or running to chase a little boy on his bike - 

              just for the fun of running and laughing with him.  

We kept calling her back, 

             “Sophi, come ride your bike!”  

             “We came here to ride not to climb.”  

             “Soph, maybe that boy doesn’t want you to chase

              him.”

I kept thinking, even in that moment, 

             “Just let her have fun and enjoy the day.”  

But, there was this bike, see, and a task to do, and so we kept coming back to riding.

Later, as I thought about it, it struck me . . .

    Sophia was much more interested in SHARING the experience - with us, 

                    with the other children, 

                    with the earth and wind and sound.  

It was more than just doing something . . . it was SHARING.  

Isn’t that funny?!  

How often do I lecture her on sharing her toys  . . . ? 

Here is her favorite way of sharing and I’ve often missed it and really never knew to call it sharing.  

“Mama!  Watch this!  Look!”  

“My name is Sophia.  I’m 3 years old.  What is your name?”

“Papa, can you help me?”

“I have a new bike.  My old one got broke.  Do you want to ride it?”

That day Sophia did learn to ride - kept her feet moving around - and even stood up to pedal!

But the real joy was so much more - it was in the sharing!

Great Idea For A Kid’s Birthday Party

My friend, Anya, just threw a party for her son, Roma’s, 5th birthday.  The theme she chose was so cute!

Birthday Train

The kids road a “train” through Roma’s life.  Each year was a “stop” and at each “stop” the children had to guess what Roma learned to do that year - and then they did an activity that had to do with what he had learned.

For example, 

Year one . . . 

   Roma learned to walk.  

   The kids had to do a little relay where they carried water by the spoonful from a little bucket to another.

They loved this !

Next stop, year two!  

   Roma learned to feed himself . . . 

   so the kids had to learn to eat jello with a popsicle stick.

And on to year 3 - I don’t remember what was this year. . . 

Year four 

   Roma learned to read . . . 

   and each of the children had to find some little gifts hidden in the room and read the name on each (if they couldn’t read, then they were to bring the gift to Roma to read!) There was a gift filled with candy for each child!

Anya made a train cake - really cute and delicious!

Such a simple and fun theme!  It could be used for any age. really - just choose the years you wanted to highlight and come up with cute activities for each.

Here’s hoping all your birthday parties are happy ones!

Roma had a great time trying to blow out the one trick candle on the cake!

Come to Russia and. . . Buy a Bike!

Anton recently changed jobs.  He’s gone from selling fabric to selling bicycles!  

This very well could be his dream-job!

Our dear Papa, mountain-bike-loving guy that he is - is now the business manager of: 

“Sport Club Extreme - Your Guide to the World of Extreme!”  

The club was started by two of Anton’s bike friends a couple of years ago.  Basically, it has been a small re-sale and repair shop.  But, they want the business to grow and hired Anton to do the grunt work.

First thing up:

 Make the store look presentable 

and get some new bikes to sell!

They painted, organized, got new inventory, put up a small monitor to play continuous bike videos. . .

Sophia’s favorite part of the store is the rock border on the floor - she asked her Papa if she could take some home and he said, “If your mama says it’s ok!”  (Thanks a lot, Papa!)

Anton put up a magazine rack and now the club sells Mountain Bike Magazine, Russian edition.  This is the magazine Anton translates for - see, I told you he is an all-out Mt Biker!

In the back of the store is a really nice mechanics' shop where they tune up and repair bikes.  Dima, one of the owners, tuned my bike and he did a great job - went out for my first ride of the season Sunday afternoon and she rode smooth!

Second on the list of “must do’s”:    

Host a Season Opening.  

They did this all last week  - with lots of special events.  Now they are collecting the information they received from their customers and will plan the next steps.

Do you have any ideas for the Club?  Are you a bike rider?  What do you look for in your local store/club?  What are some ways they can reach new customers?

Are you interested in investing in a small business in Russia?  We’d love to talk to you !

Do you need a bike?  Come  to Russia . . . buy a bike!  :  )

We Changed Our “Shoes!” or “Russian Driving in Spring!”

Russian Spring Shoes

Did you get some new shoes this Spring?  

In Russia it is a happy Spring day when we can clean and put away our winter boots! 

WHOO HOO! 

After wearing those things every day for 5 months there is such a feeling of lightness when I put on my Nikes!  

We also change the “shoes” - “peri-obivatza” - on our cars.  

We take off the snow tires and put on the regular roadies.  

And it is the same feeling of lightness with those "spring shoes"- better control - 

      like gliding on and hugging the road at the same time!

This week Anton changed our shoes and everything is different about driving in Russia.

Driving in Russia - Goodnight, I DREAMED of the freedom of driving in this country for so long! I LOVE to drive!  I grew up in East Texas and learned to drive on twisting country roads.  Windows down, Journey cranked up . . . FREEDOM!    FUN!

Country Road Driving Aside . ..   

One of my first driving lessons with my father -  I was going around our Spring Hill “S-curves” and didn’t use the breaks AT ALL!  My dad just about had a heart attack and yelled, “What are you DOING!?”  I said, “I didn’t think you were supposed to use a break around sharp curves!”  It’s amazing my dad let me keep driving!  (Thanks, Dad!)

Back to Russia. . . 

Now, I feel like I’m learning to drive all over again . . . 

    Snow tires - We never had these in East Texas.  And actually DRIVE on snow and ice . . . are you kidding? Everything closed down and we sat inside drinking hot chocolate and listening for the school closing reports!

Snow tires make driving safer but they don’t let you cling to those curves, baby!  : ) 

    Pot holes - Ok, I just thought I knew what pot holes were.  Those little tiny holes in the  Texas road were wimpy pip-squeaks in the world of road hazards. 

Here, we have seismic shifts in road plating that result in death traps of astronomical size. The ice and snow fill these up and winter driving is pretty smooth, but as soon as the Spring thaw begins, the holes appear - like asphalt and gravel monsters breaking free of their winter homes.

Driving in Spring and Summer is a constant focus of attention so as not to hit a crater and blow a tire, or worse, your whole suspension! 

There is one stretch of road near our house where the road now consists of one lane. Everyone has to ride on one side to avoid falling in a hole at least 3 ft wide and 2 feet deep!  Some other spots in Smolensk the traffic speed decreases to about 10 miles p/hr while we all slowly weave around pot holes and “road waves” - at one spot we all just drive up on the sidewalk to miss a huge hole that covers most of the road!  

   CRAZY DRIVERS - Here is my latest theory about Russian drivers . . . 


Only Child Syndrome!  


For many years, families here couldn’t afford to have more than one child.  A couple of generations grew up as only children surrounded by parents and grandparents who catered to their every need and want, resulting in some of the most self-centered drivers on the planet!  (no offense intended to any only children out there - I, too, have an only child and hope to raise her to respect others)

Remember the bad stretch of road I mentioned above - the one that limits the road to one lane?  Well, last night I was driving with Sophia home from a visit with family and when we got to that place in the road, I noticed a silver Volga, license plates with a 1099-something (yes, I tried to memorize it). He was behind me was flashing his lights, signaling me to GET OVER IN THE OTHER LANE AND LET HIM PASS!!!  I couldn’t believe it and said out loud in the car, “What!? No WAY, DUDE!”  (Like I was just going to risk damaging my car so he could go a little faster . . . unbelievable!)  
I stayed in my lane.  


When we got to the intersection about 100 ft up, he whipped over in front of me, barely missing my front end and almost hitting the car in front of me.  I looked over and there were 20-something year old guys looking at me and laughing!  At that point, I tried to memorize the license plate and wished so hard I knew some “kreesha” in the town!  That stuff just makes me crazy!

So, this Spring as you drive - enjoy your SPRING SHOES - and remember those of us dodging pot holes and crazy drivers!

Before My Very Eyes

She a totally different little girl. 

I mean, I’ve known her for 3 years now - all her life - 

                                                                   but, yesterday, I looked at her . . . and she is different.

She has fundamentally changed.

“What?! 

Wait, how did that happen?”

I’ve been scanning my brain, my memory, trying to picture what she was like before this big change.  

I can’t put my finger on it.

    

Just look at those eyes, they know something now.  

I’m telling you, there has been a major change just this week!

This has happened before, you know.  

When she was around 6 months and again at 1.  

But this time was different - I was with her 24/7 for the last week - we both had colds and Papa was on a business trip.  

I was watching her all the time . . . and, suddenly, one minute she was a new, brighter, more “with it” little girl.

AMAZING!

Our "Big Green Pocketbook" Trip to Town

Sophia and I are reading a wonderful book, “The Big Green Pocketbook.”  It is such a simple, beautifully written book about a mom and daughter trip to town.  

I love reading it to Sophia, for many reasons, but mostly because it makes the English language come alive!  There are marbled walls that smell like pennies, keychains that clink, and square scoops of ice cream in sliver dishes . . . words soaked in and filling all our senses!  

This morning we decided to take our own trip into town and make a stop at our central Library.  We bundled up in all our winter warm clothes and walked to the tram stop.  

It was a beautiful sunny day. We held our faces to the sun (with eyes closed) and soaked it in! 

The library is located in the city center, on the corner of “Lenin St” and “Big Soviet St” - gotta love all the communist left-overs!  Our tram ride took us close, but not all the way there, so we enjoyed about a 15 minute “3 yr old” walk up the city street.  

I have always loved the old center of Smolensk.  The buildings date back hundreds of years and sit high up on several hills.  Down the main street, there is our Russian Orthodox cathedral.  And on a clear day, like today, the golden copulas shine!

Sophia was ready to get in the library and read all the books.  So, after a pic, we went in.  Like all Russian public buildings, immediately in the door there is a coat check.  We passed our coats and got chastised by the “Babushka”  for taking off all Sophi’s snow gear . . . she said it was cold in the library.  I decided to take it off anyway.  Sometimes you just gotta stand up for not smothering your poor child in clothing!  

We had to stop at the check in desk and get a ticket to visit the library.  We went to the 4th floor first to see a exhibition of needlework.  Our friend, Natasha, was one of the artists displayed. We stopped at each composition and commented on the colors, subjects, and read to see if it was Natasha’s.  Natasha is the mama of Sophia’s friend, Polina!  

After looking at the exhibition, we decided to check out the foreign language reading room.  When I lived in Smolensk before - over 10 years ago, now - I donated several English language videos to this section of the library and I was interested in seeing if they were still around.

We wound our way through the secret passages to the center of the downstairs (such a strange journey up and down tiny staircases) to the foreign language section.  The librarian asked our purpose and when I explained - she REMEMBERED me!  I was so happy to hear that the videos are still around and are used on a regular basis!  She gave Sophia and me several children’s books in English to look at and  while I was reading Sophia one about Curious George, she quietly went to her office and came back with a gift for Sophi - a little stuffed heart that says, “Ya tebya lublu”  (I love you) in Russian!  She invited us to come back any time.

After such a lovely visit with a friendly librarian, I decided to get a library card!  

Sophia and I found our way through the passages again and made it to the front desk.  I asked about getting a card.  The young woman at the counter was very helpful - took my passport, took my picture, and took my 30 rubles (about a dollar) and then, we ran into a problem . . . my lack of “ochestva.”  

Ochestva is every Russian’s middle name, derived from their father’s first name.  In English we call it a patronymic.  For example, if I was a “real” Russian, my name would be D’Anna Dewaynovna Yastrebova.  D’Anna Dewaynovna would sound different because the Russian language doesn’t have our “w” sound - so, to even confuse things more - my name would be D’Anna Devaynovna.  Believe me, NOT even close to ANY Russian name!  SO, I don’t use a patronymic - I just use my maiden name as my middle name (just as my mom always said I would!)  

The problem was that the library computer system was set up only for names with “ochestvas” and this threw our pretty young librarian for a loop.  She called the system engineer and he couldn’t fix it.  Finally, they decided to just give me back my money and forget giving me a card!  I panicked, “Wait!” I said.  “What if you just use my middle name as the ochestva.”  They both looked at me.  The young lady spoke up, “Only if you give us your permission.”   “Sure,”  I said, “No Problem.”  

In five minutes I was the proud owner of a Central Library reading card!  

Sophia and I walked back to the tram stop and road home.  Our trip into town had been much like the one described in “The Big Green Pocketbook.”  We had ridden public transportation, visited the town center, met interesting people, one lady had given Sophia something to remember our day, I filled out forms, but most of all, we had fun exploring a little part of our town together!

 The central steps of The Central Library!

A 3rd Birthday

Sophia and friends at her Mom's Day Out birthday party.

When the nurse first brought Sophia to me, I was just coming out of a deep sleep.  I focused hard on what the nurse was saying as she handed me the tightly wrapped bundle.  I asked, “Is everything ok?”  I remember saying, “She is beautiful.”  I wanted to hold her and keep her, but my arms weren’t responding to my thoughts and the nurse whisked Sophi away before my mouth could say the words.  

I was totally out of it - but that blurry memory is so clear, deeply embedded.  

There are many more memories after that one: 

The first night we brought her home,

 sleepless nights, 

doctor’s visits . . .  

lots of “firsts” - eating, laughing, speaking, walking, playing, friends.  

All are starting to fade and I keep thinking that I need to

 write more down, 

take more pictures, 

shoot more video . . . 

She’s 3 - our little Princess, only 3 years old.  So, why do I feel as if a whole lifetime has gone by and I missed 90%?  I was there, but not enough registered, and I missed it.  

Can we dare to imagine that God, The Great Parent, doesn’t miss one second.  He holds it all  - every moment of Sophia, of me, of you. . .  and takes Joy in Knowing!