We were coming up on the end of our time in Ukraine. There was one thing we had talked about doing before we left, going to see Chernobyl. We had watched the mini-series before we left for Ukraine and I had decided that I didn’t want to go. But after almost two years in Ukraine, I decided it was something I wanted to experience once in my life. I was pretty nervous before going, but it ended up being a trip I will not forget anytime soon.

We went with our bubble, because you know- co-dependence. All our kids stayed home together and had a fun day of screens and pizza (with babysitters of course!) It is about a two hour and a half hour drive from Kyiv, but we had each other to chat with and a movie about Chernobyl to watch. It is pretty rare for us to be together all day without kids, in fact this may have been the only time it happened, so it felt like an adult field trip, with shared snacks on the bus and a bathroom stop on the way.

When we arrived we were briefed not to touch animals or eat anything. We were each given a meter to measure the radiation around us. These are collected at the end to make sure the levels are ok. You also have to go through a machine at the end that tests the radiation on your body to make sure it isn’t leaving the restricted zone. So all in all, I felt pretty safe about the whole thing (but I still threw away my clothes and shoes after).

Our first stop was a small school near Chernobyl that we were allowed to enter. Most of the buildings in the area are so dilapidated that this was the only building we could enter. It was pretty impactful, so for me it was enough. It was clear the inhabitants had left suddenly and the place had been abandoned for 35 years.

After that we headed over to where the nuclear power plant is. It was covered recently by a sarcophagus that USAID helped sponsor. Being with a bunch of USAID people this was particularly exciting.

After that we headed to the nearby town of Pripyat. It was a tie which was spookier at the entrance gate- the guns out front or the animal doll heads on the fence.

Our first stop in Pripyat was the truck graveyard. It was full of all the trucks that had been used to help after the explosion and were now relegated here until they decomposed. It was amazing to see how trees will just go ahead and grow through anything!

After that we walked around the town. You feel like you are walking in a pretty forest, but you have to stop and think that 35 years ago there were no trees, but streets, buidlings and people everywhere. People were living their lives, going to work, going to school, making dinner. And then all of a sudden they were loaded on buses and had to leave everything behind.

Construction that will never be done.

Next up was an amusement park that was meant to be opened four days after the explosion happened. The amusement park was never opened, but it is said that the Ferris Wheel was started the day after the explosion to keep people busy.

Our last stop was the center of this once busy, crowded city. Trees have now grown wherever they can, shopping carts were turned over in the supermarket and it was eerily quiet.

Fun fact- here is a Soviet vending machine for water. The crazy part is there was only one cup. Everyone used the same one….

While what happened was incredibly sad and tragic, I was struck by all the different beauty. The first one that hits you right away is the natural beauty that over the last 35 years has reclaimed it’s place and grown back everywhere.

There there is the original Soviet art work that so rarely is still visible, especially in Ukraine. It makes it possible to almost imagine what life would have been life in that time.

And last there is the modent art that is all around. I am not sure who has painted these murals and if they are sanctioned. There are actually poeple who sneak into Chernobyl to spend nights there, despite it being illegal and dangerous. Maybe some of them are the artists. But it adds a whole other level to an already surreal experience.

We still had a few days in Cairo and we packed in as much as we could. This was one of those trips where everything just fell into place. Our time in Cairo was perfect and the kids loved it. We hired a guide (who was vaccinated!) and a driver for all three days and it was the best decision ever. It made the whole time in Cairo feel easy. We also stayed at the Four Seasons in a great location right on the Nile.

We spent a morning walking around the Old City. Randy and I had both never been here and it was well worth it, even during a heat wave! It was empty, maybe the heat wave, Eid and Covid worked to our advantage here. We started at the Main Gate, which was built almost a thousand years ago. It’s amazing in Egypt how old things are and how they are just plunked in the middle of the city and life just goes on around it and in it!

Just an Egyptian in the Old City 🙂

Beautiful buildings everywhere we looked!

At the end of the Old City is Khan al-Khalili souq. This huge open market bazaar is usually packed. But because it was Eid it was basically empty, which was perfect for us. We headed to one of the oldest tea shop in Cairo! El-Fishawy cafe opened in 1797, but even more imoprtantly it is where Randy and I had gone with his family the weekend we got engaged 🙂 It was exactly the shady break we needed and we all loved it!

We left time for some pool time before dinner which the kids loved. Then we got dressed and had dinner on the Nile. Another great Cairo day!

For our last day in Cairo we headed to the Museum. There is a new museum being built near the pyramids so this may be the last time we ever go to this museum. This is actually one of my favorite museums in the world. It is so full and there are things to see everywhere you look! It also has an old, authentic feeling. After watching two seasons of Lost Treasures of Egpyt, where archaelogists dig all around Egypt these boys were excited to see treasures up close!

This one was interested for a while, but thankfully I had a bag of skittles to keep her entertained. This isn’t my first musuem with little kids 🙂

The boys were most excited to see King Tut’s tomb’s treasures. Our guide told us we can’t take any pictures to keep crowds moving so here are the few I snuck.

A future archaologist in his element.

After our musuem day we headed out on a felucca ride on the Nile for sunset. This was a huge success. The kids loved it and it was super relaxing. This might be the best way to see Cairo.

After that we drove down to the beach and had a few days of sun and pool. We started at El Gouna where our friends got married. They had lots of pool and beaches and a cute little town to eat at.

We decided to go snorkeling and it was a roaring success with amazing dolphins everywhere. Unfortunately, Maclolm got scared and Miral had some reaction to the salt and was crying for most of the boat ride. Our poor captain may be a little bit traumatized and never have kids. He kept trying to offer her Coca-Cola to make her feel better. I probably would have even let her try some if it had helped. But Randy and Adam both agreed it was an amazing opportunity to swim with 20 dolphins and I am happy they got to do it.

Our last stop was the Oberoi in Hurghada. This may be one of the nicest hotels I have ever stayed at. The pool was amazing, they had a reef right off the beach and the food was amazing. I could have stayed here a whole other week! Perfect end to an awesome trip.

My kids LOVE a hotel breakfast.

Randy and I have been to Cairo a few times, but never with the kids. Fun fact we actually got engaged in Cairo, and because I love a throwback I dug this beauty out for you. Here we are the last time we were at the pyramids, 12 years ago! Randy took me to the pyramids and asked the camel driver in egyptian to take us somewhere where we would be alone. There was only one camel for me and one horse for Randy, I was convinced one of us was going to injure ourselves. But we made it out to a sand dune where we got off to sit for a bit. Randy started reading from the guide book that this exact spot was where Mark Anthony proposed to Cleopatra, just as I turned to him to ask how on earth he knew which of the hundreds of sand dunes was the right one he pulled out a beautiful ring. I was so surprised it took me a few seconds to say yes 🙂

For spring break this year we decided to take the kids to Egypt. We have wanted to go for years and the timing was never right. The timing wasn’t great this time either but we decided to go for it. Because of Covid we couldn’t see any family but we at least got to show the kids Egypt. They have been watching archeological shows in Egypt and are super into mummies and the history and we were all excited to explore everything. We started with a few days in Cairo and of course had to take them to the pyramids! We would never have imagined all those years ago we would come back all these years later with three kids!

11 tears later, back in Giza!

I of course was worried about how the kids would fare in a heat wave, during Eid when there weren’t many options for food, during Covid, when, when, when. And as always everything worked out great. We had a guide who made everything easy, we had plenty of snacks, we did have to buy cheesy tourist hats for the sun but the kids loved them and everyone was happy despite the heat and loved everything about seeing the pyramids. We climbed a little bit of the big pyramid then went out to ride some camels! Adam even got to ride the same camel that Obama rode! He was pretty excited about it.

With just this as our whole day I woud have been happy but we had a whole other part of our day planned. We went to the oldest pyramid in Egpyt, the step pyramid in Saqqara, near the city of Memphis. They loved every minute of it. They loved they museum, they loved the artifacts, they loved the hieroglyphics, and most of all they loved getting to go down into a real life pyramid and climb into a sarcophagus. It is so amazing to see these places not only through my own eyes but also through their eyes, knowing they will never forget these moments. My favorite part was probably when the guard came over and I was sure he was going to tell me to get my kids out of the sarcophagus but it turned out he was enthralled by Malcolm’s polaroid camera and asked if I would take a picture of him posing by the sarcophagus. Of course I did! I kind of wished I had taken a picture of his happy smile holding the polaroid photo.

Five tired and dusty but happy Alis!

After all that we headed back to the pool to relax for a bit and then got dressed for a yummy dinner in Zamelek. Perfect day in Cairo!

Towards the end of our time in Ukraine we decided to take some pictures in our favorite spot in Ukraine. Right behind our house is a pedestrian path that goes on for miles. It starts on Landscape Alley, then it passes St Andrews, a beautiful blue church that looks over Podil. After that you go down these wooden stairs to artist alley, a beautiful path along the river that during the weekend is full of artists selling paintings. It ends with the glass bridget that leads right to Friendship Arch. This was the start of my running path as well and I would run this way almost every single day for the last two years. Through the depths of Covid this run kept me sane and calm and was somedays the only time I left the house. The kids were there almost every day, walking Miral to school, sledding in the snow, riding scooters, getting ice-cream. I don’t think I will ever have a run this beautiful and full of beautiful spots.

Looking at these pictures so many memories come back. I love this path and I love these pictures that include so many things that I love in Kyiv , the amazing murals, the green spaces, the river, the beautiful orthodox churches. I also love the candid photos that remind me of the real moments that took place, Miral’s blister that needed caring, the Roblox robucks bribing, the engagement photos Randy and I tried to take that reminded me of our post wedding photo shoot in downtown Athens, the fact that you can see our apartment in a few of the pictures in the background.

I love them all so here they all are! I know there are a lot, but they are all so amazing I just can’t choose.

No shoes for Miral because we were waiting for the bandaid!

No shoes and a scowl

Skittles and a bandaid made everything better!

There is our apartment in the background!

With spring comes Greek easter, my favorite holiday. Well, it’s at least tied with Christmas. I love so many things about Easter, I love watching the kids decorate and search for hidden eggs, I love having friends over for a big lamb dinner, I love that it means spring and summer are on their way and the weather is changing. Last year we weren’t able to have a dinner, so this year we invited everyone over and made lamb, well Randy made the lamb and I made spinach pies and tzatziki. Teamwork people! Everyone loved the dinner and I loved being with people to celebrate and commemorate a special day. It’s what I missed most in Covid, being near people I love, people that are special to me, people that I am getting to know.

One of my favorite parts of the day was seeing these cute photos Malcolm and his bff Naomi had taken these cute photos to remember the day.

After a long year of Covid and all that came with it, we finally were able to get vaccinated! It was such an amazing moment knowing we could start to be more free and live our lives.

We did things we had been putting off for a while. We got Adam tested for glasses and turns out he needed them. He got these cute glasses and was so excited to be able to finally see clearly!

And then instead of doing all the many things we had planned to do we decided that what we most wanted to do was keep hanging out with our bubble. We loved hanging out with them and we couldn’t think of anyone better to bring in the warm weather and spring with. Some might call that codependence, I think it just means that the thing that kept us sane ended up being the best thing for us. We went back to the field for more picnics, we hung out in parks, we went to dinner together in a restaurant for the first time ever. Who would have ever thought all those months ago when we first started bubbling that all of us would not want it to end.

The thing in Ukraine is that winter lasts much longer than you think. You wait and wait for the cold and snow to break but it doesn’t for a long time and then one day it just does. You can spend more time outside and the sun stays out a bit longer. You and your bubble emerge from the long dinners inside that were keeping you sane and you can bring a blanket and light a fire and be outside for long brisk days.

On our last long break in winter we usually would have all scattered to the four corners of nearby Europe, but with quarantines and closed borders the whole bubble was in Kyiv, so we decided the best option was to dacha for both weekends. Even in the cold we bundled up and headed on long walks, played music, swam in the warmish indoor pool and could just imagine the warmer days that were coming.

They said it would be cold. They said it would snow. They said we would need fancy special winter boots. After a mild first winter I didn’t really believe them anymore. A few light snow storms, nothing worse than a regular winter in New York. I couldn’t figure out what everyone was worried about.

Then this winter came. At first it was some really cold days, then a sheet of ice for three days that had everyone scrambling. I wore my running spikes to walk to get Miral. It was so cold we cold only be outside for short periods of time and I ordered some hand and feet warmers. Then….it snowed for three weeks straight. Not a little bit of snow. A lot of snow each time. Tons of snow. So much snow that Kyiv closed school for the first time in ten years! And the craziest part is we loved it! Maybe it was because we were home from work and school a lot with quarantines and break and didn’t have to move around a lot in the many feet of snow. There was an amazing sledding hill right behind out house that we went to almost every day. Miral’s school stayed open almost the entire time so we sledded her back and forth. I think this may be the only time we experience so much snow and winter in a time where we were mostly together and not running off to work and school.

Also this view from our bedroom window never got old.

I managed to keep running through most of the winter which is pretty amazing. It just meant I had to dress up in getups like this one. Once I realized that two socks, two gloves, two pants could be worn I was all set.

We even managed to go ice skating in the snow.

Here is the sledding hill and our apartment window is right behind that tree on the right. We couldn’t have asked for a better deal.

I’ll miss the snowy runs and the beautiful clear blue skies in the winter. I’ll miss the big snowfalls. I won’t miss the cold toes I always had, but I would take them for a few more days in this beautiful place.

A week after I recovered from Covid I turned 41. The kids and Randy were still quarantined so we all spent the day at home. It was a lovely day, I had breakfast in bed, watched movies with the kids and then we all dressed up and had a yummy dinner at home. It was exactly the way I wanted to turn 41. It is mind blowing that just a year ago Randy surprised me with a trip to the Maldives for my fortieth birthday. It was only a year ago that we were in the office every day and I needed to take off time for vacation, a year ago that my mom hopped on a flight to Ukraine to visit and watched the kids while we were way, a year ago we took a flight and stayed at a resort without masks and worry, we ate inside the restaurant and didn’t even give a single thought about Covid. What a different world. This year was a lot calmer and while spending my 40th in Maldives was pretty epic, spending the day at home with my family was no less special in it’s own way. The main difference for me in these post Covid days is that there is no where to run off to, nothing pulling my attention away, no guilt about not doing more and I can be happy right where I am.

Now because I love a list more than anything, here are the top ten things I am proud of accomplishing this first year of my forties.

1. I learned to cook. This had a lot to do with Covid, all the spare time I had and not being able to eat in restaurants. I decided to face my fears and start cooking and I have to say besides searing meat I have figured out I am not a bad cook at all.
2. Every single day of Covid, even those first three months where everything was shut down and we hardly left the house I got dressed in real clothes. This may not seem like a big deal, but we all lived through the last year and we all know that it was no small feat to stay out of leggings.
3. I managed to increase my daily run from 4 to 6 miles. This I have Kyiv to thank for. My run in Kyiv is the most beautiful run I have ever had.
4. I focused on my job (when Covid permitted) and I am proud of myself for taking the time to grow at work. I decided to take the challening route which meant more hours and work and I switched to American Citizen services this year and I loved it. It was challenging and interesting and I kept a smile on my face through the entire time.
5. I took time to work on myself and started to realize that self care is not selfish but necessary and healthy. Taking time to myself away from the kids when I wanted/needed is good for everyone.
6. I learned Ukrainian and I used it this year. Not so much at work, more with deliveries and groceries, but I still spoke it and it amazes me all the time.
7. Despite being home with the family ALOT, I was able to appreciate the extra time we all had together at home and the slower calmer pace this year brought.
8. I started reading again after a long break and I remembered how much I loved to read, two favorite reads this year- Circe and Immortalists.
9. I made the most amazing friends. While I have made friends in every place we have lived, it has always taken years and our busy lives meant we would see each other every now and again. Covid meant that I got to spend every weekend and some weekdays with the same four families and I loved every second of it. The four women I got to spend my Covid bubble with kept me sane, laughing and will always be special.
10. I worked on enjoying where I am and not worrying about what happened or what will happen. This is a work in progress, but I have a whole other year before my next birthday.

After our quarantine was over we had our bubble over for a dinner to celebrate both my and Malcolm’s birthday. Malcolm wanted a minecraft cake. My friend Sara told me she would bring a cake, I figured it would be some chocolate or vanilla adult creation. She instead brought this lady lounging in a bathtub cake which I thought was amazing! Despite years and years of getting my kids fun cakes I have never thought of getting one for myself! I loved blowing candles out with Malcolm and celebrating with our friends and family. Also I just realized I spent my last birthday in the Maldives and Malcolm spent his birthday this year in the Maldives! For now I am happy he still wants to celebrate with me 🙂

After spending a year avoiding everything and everyone it finally happened. I finally got Covid the day we returned from Maldives. I started feeling sick on the flight and I knew by the time we touched down in Kyiv that I had Covid. I tested at the airport, headed straight home and didn’t leave my room for the next 11 days. Randy and the kids didn’t come into the room and didn’t leave the apartment. We were all isolated in our own ways.

Covid is an interesting thing. It is tied with a lot of stigma and a lot of judgment. I had 11 days isolated in my room to think about all the reasons I was at fault for getting sick. I shouldn’t have traveled, I should have washed my hands more, I should have tested more, I shoudln’t have waited on the breakfast egg line that was always crowded. I also had a lot of time to worry. And this is what is hard about Covid, you just don’t know. You don’t know if you will that one person who is young(ish) and healthy but will have to be hospitalized or worse. Every time you have trouble breathing you can see the intubation tube coming. Every time the kids were tired or cranky that week, I was sure they were going to get Covid and that’s a whole other rabbit hole that most mothers are very familiar with. We were very lucky overall. I had trouble breathign for a few weeks and flu like symptoms but fully recovered. We found out after by testing antibodies that the kids had also had Covid but had no symptoms.

So how do you spend 11 days in a room alone you ask? Well, the first four days I stayed in my pajamas and didn’t even have energy to facetime the kids.

Eventually I started feeling better and I was able to call the kids and enjoy the presenst the kids dropped off at my door and the flowers from my sweet friend that brightened up my room. Luckily there was loads of crap TV I have missed out with that I was able to catch up on. I watched everything out there, shows on ballerinas, 90 day fiancee, Grey’s Anatomy, there is even a show where two people who have never met get married. So much TV out there to while away your time if you’re not working and raising three kids.

It also helped that I had this beautiful view out my window. I even could see the kids sled when they were down there. And eventually, two weeks later I was finally allowed out! I went for long walks, so happy to be freed!

We finally organized our seashells from the Maldives.

The only good thing to come out of Covid was that I could live free and not worry about catching Covid for a bit. I was able to go to our favorite restaurant (alone, since Randy had no antibodies), but the wine and artichoke was still delicious!

I started getting breakfast at the cafe down the block after my runs.

I was able to get my hair done for the first time in a year!

Even with the perks I wouldn’t wish Covid on anyone. It took me months to get back to my full run and I missed a month of life with the quarantines and recovery. All that being said, I know how lucky I am to have gotten off so easy!