We like to travel, or at least go on trips for vacation. And, honestly, that was one of the great things about adopting from Russia - the chance to visit St. Petersburg and Moscow, as well as Arkhangelsk and Kotlas, and just do things in a place away from home.
However, once you adopt a child, particularly one from an orphanage who's used to routine, it's best to stay home and stick to routine tasks. This helps the child get used to her new surroundings, and reassures her that she won't be once again uprooted and taken somewhere else. For example, recall that Elena's first experience in sleeping in strange places was when she was taken away from the orphanage by a couple strange people (us), so it would be perfectly natural for her to be worried if she again winds up sleeping in strange places.
But still, we like to travel, and we wanted to make sure Elena also enjoyed traveling, which meant easing into the travel experience. We didn't know Elena's tolerence level for sleeping in strange places away from home, so we started slowly. (more after the cut)
We went on our first overnight trip back in February, staying a single night in Bay City (far enough away to try out a "long" car ride, but close enough to return home in the middle of the night if we had to). Despite our worries, Elena was fine with that trip. She enjoys doing new things, so I think the novelty of going somewhere else and doing different things outweighed any anxiety she might have.
From there, we worked up our way up, with another one-day trip in the spring and two- and three-day trips in the summer and fall (including the trip to Bucktown in August). Things didn't go 100% smoothly, but then Elena is three years old, and pretty much no day goes 100% smoothly. More importantly, Elena likes traveling. She enjoys the novelty, likes staying in hotels, likes swimming in the hotel pools, and I think also likes having both of us around all day. When we ask her about taking a trip, she wants to go again, and now.
So, this last week, we took a whole week vacation in the Upper Peninsula. And that week-long vacation was probably about as long as we could go. Elena enjoyed staying in hotels (and swimming in the pools) and taking hikes and biking, just like we do, but I think she was getting a little home-sick by the end of the week. In particular, she started asking more questions about Kotlas, and occasionally asking if we would indeed be returning home soon.
We made sure she knew we would be returning home, and tried to make sure she understood something about the schedule: We'll be staying here for X days, then go to a different hotel (with a different swimming pool!) and stay for Y days, then go home. I think she mostly understood the schedule, but she still seemed more anxious by the end of the trip than she had at the beginning. Not enough to put a damper on her fun, I think, but enough that she was glad to get home.
But our vacation was a successful experience, I think. The weather was overcast and tended toward rain, but we saw a lot of things and had a lot of fun, and I think Elena enjoyed herself just as much as we did.
However, once you adopt a child, particularly one from an orphanage who's used to routine, it's best to stay home and stick to routine tasks. This helps the child get used to her new surroundings, and reassures her that she won't be once again uprooted and taken somewhere else. For example, recall that Elena's first experience in sleeping in strange places was when she was taken away from the orphanage by a couple strange people (us), so it would be perfectly natural for her to be worried if she again winds up sleeping in strange places.
But still, we like to travel, and we wanted to make sure Elena also enjoyed traveling, which meant easing into the travel experience. We didn't know Elena's tolerence level for sleeping in strange places away from home, so we started slowly. (more after the cut)
We went on our first overnight trip back in February, staying a single night in Bay City (far enough away to try out a "long" car ride, but close enough to return home in the middle of the night if we had to). Despite our worries, Elena was fine with that trip. She enjoys doing new things, so I think the novelty of going somewhere else and doing different things outweighed any anxiety she might have.
From there, we worked up our way up, with another one-day trip in the spring and two- and three-day trips in the summer and fall (including the trip to Bucktown in August). Things didn't go 100% smoothly, but then Elena is three years old, and pretty much no day goes 100% smoothly. More importantly, Elena likes traveling. She enjoys the novelty, likes staying in hotels, likes swimming in the hotel pools, and I think also likes having both of us around all day. When we ask her about taking a trip, she wants to go again, and now.
So, this last week, we took a whole week vacation in the Upper Peninsula. And that week-long vacation was probably about as long as we could go. Elena enjoyed staying in hotels (and swimming in the pools) and taking hikes and biking, just like we do, but I think she was getting a little home-sick by the end of the week. In particular, she started asking more questions about Kotlas, and occasionally asking if we would indeed be returning home soon.
We made sure she knew we would be returning home, and tried to make sure she understood something about the schedule: We'll be staying here for X days, then go to a different hotel (with a different swimming pool!) and stay for Y days, then go home. I think she mostly understood the schedule, but she still seemed more anxious by the end of the trip than she had at the beginning. Not enough to put a damper on her fun, I think, but enough that she was glad to get home.
But our vacation was a successful experience, I think. The weather was overcast and tended toward rain, but we saw a lot of things and had a lot of fun, and I think Elena enjoyed herself just as much as we did.
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| The landscape in the Seney section of the UP is simlar to that around Kotlas - flat and boggy, with pines and some birches. |
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| We climbed onto a rock in Lake Superior (near Marquette) |
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| Looking.... |
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