Day 18 of 365 Days of Being Thankful

     Today I am thankful for the few minutes that I got to hold Olivia on my lap last night. We were each taking turns holding our cat Nittany.  We were singing the Big Bang Theory Soft Kitty song. I can't sing well at all, but we love the song!  After the cat jumped down I grabbed Olivia onto my lap and sang the song to her.  I didn't have Olivia as a baby so I am glad whenever I get a few minutes to hug her or hold her on my lap. She is 20 years old but still very huggable!

Her hair always smells so good. Those Ukrainian genes are something she should be happy she has. Ukraine makes beautiful children. My younger daughter Olya is writing a speech for her Public Speaking Class in college. Her instructor told the class that they had to pick something meaningful that helped describe a part of themselves.  She is writing about her Ukrainian heritage. I think the other students will be surprised when she talks about being born in Ukraine, living in an orphanage and coming to the U.S. at almost age 11, and not knowing one word of English!  When I think about my girls coming to America, I think of how brave they were.  They left everything they ever knew, their language, their friends, their bio relatives, and their native country.  We hosted Olya for a few weeks over the Winter holidays so she knew where she was coming and what was here for her and who we were. She also knew that Olivia came from Ukraine and was still fluent in Ukrainian. Two years earlier, Olivia came on blind faith, she didn't know us at all other than the two weeks we visited her before the adoption! Olya has a necklace she always wears that we purchased at Ukrainian Dance Camp which is a tryzub.

The oldest examples of the tryzub discovered on Ukrainian territory dates back to the 1st century AD.  In 1992,  after the restoration of Ukraine's independence, the tryzub was accepted as the national State Emblem.  For many centuries, the tryzub was used as a religious symbol and was found on coins, crosses, weapons, ceramics, and church bricks and tiles. There are several theories of what the tryzub represents.  One theory is that the tryzub stands for courage, freedom, and bravery. Another theory is that it also stands for the Christian Trinity of God the father, Jesus the son, and the Holy Spirit. It also known as representing  the Trinity of Life which is Father, Mother and child.  

        Olya  is writing her speech about the tryzub which is the official coat of arms of Ukraine.  She is going to speak about her Ukrainian heritage and how she is proud of being born in Ukraine and proud of being an American citizen.  I will always be thankful to Ukraine for giving me two of their most precious gifts, Olivia and Olya!