Thursday, January 5, 2012

Crazy Cat Lady

When I left Kentucky, a lot of people were betting I would find a nice Ukrainian man to bring home with me. I must confess, they were right. Actually, I found two. I found two darling young men to bring home. One man and I adore each other and never want to be apart. The other keeps his distance most days but will bring down his barriers when no one else is watching. 
Meet Pairsic and Regric. Or Peach and Royal in Ukrainian. 

All my life, my family has had animals. Mom and Dad have Mocha now, whose will is a strong as the color of her coat. But these two boys stole my heart as soon as we met. They helped me wash dishes, cook, clear fields, do laundry. My boys were always just at my heels while I struggled to understand what was being said or done or what I needed to do in response. Even when I woke up at 2 am to wander to the outhouse, I would find their blonde and orange faces waiting outside the outhouse door to escort me home. These boys became to understand Ukranglish too. They could respond to any command or question I asked no matter the language. Not everyone understood my affection for the hooligans first off, but after a good bath to scrub up their rough edges (Pairsic especially, that boy got dirty every day), some table scraps to insure their friendship, they became the favorite morning 'Hello' of most who entered our gate. 

In fact, Mama Olea and Papa Volodia continuously offered me Pairsic to take home to American. Regric is much more useful on the farm than Pairsic. My Pairsic just wants to be loved and love in return. He's not a real fan of chasing mice like Regs is.
My boy waiting at the school door his friends to come back outside. 

I slowly started to teach Parisic it was okay to climb up my shoulders. Then he figured out he could just sit up there and gaze at his world. 

Regs got a little jealous that I didn't have two hoods to put them both in. Sidenote: Pairsic stayed in the hood of my closet for well over an hour this day. 

Regs climbing his fences to check out his domain. 

Pairsic running down the street after me. This was his worst habit. I learned I had to lock him into something - the front corridor, the kitchen, the barn -  and take off running whenever  I left or he would come rocketing down the street after me. On this particular day, this is his third attempt to catch Caitlin and I going on our sunset walk around town. We were already 4 houses away when he appeared. He's a very determined guy. 

This image I borrowed from my friend Christine who captured my dearest moment with my boy.  We had conversations each morning about what we would do that day or we would go or where we had been the day before. He would swirl around my feet as I slowly attempted to walk to breakfast. I eagerly await an overnight visit to Burty to be able to do just this. 

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