I received a gift, an old ring,
And every time I wear this ring,
I just feel happy.
My grandmother gave it to me,
And she got it from a very special friend
Who called her daughter and granddaughter after my grandmother.
They have been friends for 83 years...
The ring was on the sun for 3 days,
This way they say, its a "happy ring":)
I grew up in different environment,
This is part of it.
I have seen miracles, in times when they shouldn't be,
This why I believe.
My great grandmother, grandmother, aunt,
Mostly raised me,
They are unique people.
My great grandmother was very kind, she knew everything about our world, even she never left her old village a lot.
My grandmother never gives up, she had solution for everything, its mean to be this way and all going to be all right,
She is always right.
My aunt she had excuse for all you might do wrong, she says that what God wants, learn a bit from doing all the f.. sh..
Fix it and believe.
My mom goes against all the rules, she sticks for what she thinks is should be,
If a person, doesn't think so, well, its to bad,
She won't stop until you do what she wants.
My father says: do what you want,
Don't know what to do,
Don't do anything,
Its all gonna be okay anyway...
It was my father's birthday a few years ago.
He had all his friends invited, relatives, students.
They almost emptied our supermarket, it was one big table near his house.
I was invited too, my sister didn't go.
Everyone was making all kind of wishes, cannot say no, the special day.
That night on the way home,
I saw two moons on the sky at the same time near to each other.
When I got home, my mom told me to go where I came from...
The weirdest thing I have seen on the sky,
Was my name and word "hi".
I was very small, my grandmother said:
Irina, read this word and she pointed her hand on the sky.
I was reading: Irina, hi...
We were at the middle of rye lands, beautiful summer days.
The wind, the sun, bright blue sky saying hi..
Sometimes after, I didn't know what people would say.
I didn't want to be different in any way, but
It would still show...
And I said I will be who I am...
One time me and my sister were taking pictures of the sun.
It was the sunset, the sun was beautiful, round, big, shining orange and red.
The sky was orange, purple, blue and red.
This woman jumped in front of us, asking why are we taking pictures of her.
I told we are taking pictures of the sun.
Then the woman said:
What sun, where is it?
She didn't even noticed...
One time I asked my grandmother about her grandmother and great grandmother,
Because in the village people were still talking about them, one hundred years after may be..
My grandmother said: they could do anything!
In terms of personal well being.
Anything.
Even their loving touch, strong belief that everything will be just great, kind words,
Made a big difference.
My grandmother, mother never have a doubt they wouldn't do the right thing.
Their nature, probably, goes before them...
My grandmother, when she was a little girl,
Liked a lot one shy country boy.
They were from the same village,
Very close, but both very shy,
So when I was her age,
They figured out, that they loved each other many years ago.
This boy when he grew up, left his family, friends and went to live in the forest by himself.
We visited him once...
At that time I was not interested at all going to the forest and see old grandma's friend.
She said I can learn a lot, I think I got a gift for that too.
I thought it was crazy walking on the grass without shoes, but it was a rule.
My grandmother was holding her shoes, bag, feeling like young lady, talking about the past.
How this boy always had blushing face, scared to say a word,
And she was the same.
Then he went to army and returned forever to live far away.
The forest became his new home.
When my great grandmother was young
She was very beautiful, it was not a village girl beauty, plain and simple,
It was beauty beyond that.
Wealthy family used to own her village,
As well as other villages around.
And their son felt in love with my great grandmother,
Of course at that time no one would let him to marry not equal one.
They saw each other for a while, then he had to decide what to have,
His family wealth or her, he didn't want to go against.
After Russian Social Revolution in 1917 the village, all country became freedom,
All rich families were pretty much wiped out,
This man run away and she saw him again after almost twenty years, dirty sitting on the street.
He recognized her, but she was married to a nice man, my great grandfather, had two children.
She walked by, leaving some money in his cup.
Only the war took her outside beauty, but not the inside, none could take what you have inside.
At that time thirty, fourth years women took everything on their shoulders,
Young men and women left,
You have big farm, children, old people, winter, summer, spring,
She was working sometimes twenty hours a day for four years in the forest and farm,
Letting my grandmother go to school.
And own house, garden, writing letters to her sisters, nieces, cousins to the army,
About how good life is and they shouldn't worry about her, and their children,
Because they have everything.
That what she was all about,
Always optimistic, smiling,
Believing that everything will be great.
Even with us, had candies all the time,
She said, the wind brought it to her.
Each flower and grass she knew by name, knew the entire forest, where our river goes, the animals...
Everything...
I read this long time ago,
In a magazine for the Soviet women,
Wondering what happened to those women now?
It was in 1986 when was explosion on Chernobyl Atomic Reactor.
No one would knew if the cloud didn't go to Poland.
Shortly, the stories were published about the women who worked and lived at that city...
The first was a story about a cleaning lady,
Part of the cleaning stuff at the reactor.
Her picture, nice, young face.
She was at home when it happened, may be all employees were notified,
She took cloth, broom and went to work.
Now the limit is 200% higher the limit,
What was then?
But this woman went, worked without safety equipment, proudly telling her story.
Then was a teacher, exactly the same,
A doctor, working day and night,
Helping evacuate the city, which is empty since then...
In school I subscribed to a magazine for teenagers,
I read stories, knitting, sewing lessons,
We didn't have internet back then.
After in the class we had an hour a week to share a story with everyone.
This was a story of a young woman.
When she was 16, her love life was not really great.
So after thinking the girl decided to work with her mother's kitchen doctors office a bit.
In the morning the clock rang at 7:15, she woke up feeling like elephants walking on her head.
Parents thought she ate something bad.
Twenty years went by,
This woman now could thank the clock enough for waking her up.
And at 7:15 in morning her child was born,
Twenty years after.
That's the story...
A few times I was in a house where people prayed when religion was prohibited.
It was a small house, some one was living in it.
Made from wood, one living room, icons on the wall in the right corner.
After a while you just feel so bright inside.
You would believe in stories that Angels stopped by.
Just nice, nothing much, warm home made bread on the table, I still remember the smell, little bit of food: boiled potatoes, milk, salt and candies, white table cloth, everything clean.
Old ladies were smiling.
There were another kids...
The ladies kissed us in each cheek, blessed, hugged, turned around,
Told I look exactly like my grandma.
And I could see love in their eyes.
I was seven sitting on their hands, kissed all over my face, tickled, someone gave me a doll.
Then they prayed, it was like a song,
We were quiet, because the ladies were talking to God.
Each time we were told,
Just close your eyes, think, ask for the answer, say thank you,
All you need...
Most of the time I have heard:
Its going to be fine,
We have nothing to worry about... at our age...
These words I think I use most often.
My mother with onion at winter,
Many "f" words at other seasons,
Her forever "Is it so? or is it what the government says,
I don't see a stamp anywhere".
She only trusts x-ray.
My father with: okay, okay,
How much?
Go buy you something.
My grandmother:
Lets not go crazy first thing in the morning.
My aunts studying horoscopes with liners:
The stars say its all will be fine,
Mars in Jupiter this week,
May be has some affect.
My uncle: have a drink first, then think,
At any age I was then.
No one takes anything serious,
Juts believe all will be great somehow...
