Memories—the rooms

After we wandered into Erinna's old rooms at the orphanage, an older lady appeared in the the other doorway. I showed her my prepared statement in Ukrainian explaining why we were there. She smiled and took us down another hall to what I assume was one of the doctors or directors, who read the same statement. She smiled, and they both led us back to Erinna's old rooms.

There were the same little tables and chairs where I sat with Erinna that first day while she ate soup for lunch, with the little kitchen nearby. She drank her soup from a huge tin cup that seemed way too big for her.

There was the wall of stuffed toys. Different toys, now. I had brought a large stuffed animal for Erinna, which quickly became the orphanage's stuffed animal and lived on that wall.

There was the living room where the kids played. When we arrived each day, this is where they would all surround us, begging for attention and play.

There was the door to the "bathroom" at the far end, where the kids all sat on chamber pots during their potty break. If we arrived in the middle of potty break time, the kids didn't get up, but they all started scooting on their pots towards the door! Hilarious!

And in the large bedroom area, there were 16 young boys sound asleep. (I guess that explained the total silence!) No girls now, just the boys. A little more crowded than it was in Erinna's time.

And all this time, Erinna was nearly overwhelmed with excitement and the emotions being stirred up!