Fran by Rita; the Princess and the Cat; Rita surrounded by Marfa's artwork embroidery.Valya's daughter Olena, a doctor, singer, and pianist, and her daughter Rita, 8 years old (same age as my grandson Kyle), live in Lugansk, but Rita has been staying in Starobilsk with Auntie Olga recently. Rita's friend Polina, 12 years old, has been here too, keeping Rita company. Rita has inherited her
mom's talents and interests; she is bright and creative, and learning a little English, too.
Olga is working hard to keep them occupied (sound familiar?). We visited Marfa together. They go swimming in the river, a bit too hot for Olga, “but it keeps the kids busy.” They bike around town, visit Olga’s mother, who lives down the road on Panfelova, and they visit the Amerikanka on the way.
Recently Olga came with our mutual good friend Tonya--Rita and Polina in tow--for tea and snacks. I found a deck of cards and a checkers set for the kids to play with, along with paper and color pens.
Tonya, my lovely Koorychevka teacher friend, so dear to me, speaks better English than Olga, but both work at it and both are former French teachers, and so with my little bit of Russian, some English and some French, we wend our way through the mysteries of language to talk about things that matter.
mom's talents and interests; she is bright and creative, and learning a little English, too.Olga is working hard to keep them occupied (sound familiar?). We visited Marfa together. They go swimming in the river, a bit too hot for Olga, “but it keeps the kids busy.” They bike around town, visit Olga’s mother, who lives down the road on Panfelova, and they visit the Amerikanka on the way.
Recently Olga came with our mutual good friend Tonya--Rita and Polina in tow--for tea and snacks. I found a deck of cards and a checkers set for the kids to play with, along with paper and color pens.
Tonya, my lovely Koorychevka teacher friend, so dear to me, speaks better English than Olga, but both work at it and both are former French teachers, and so with my little bit of Russian, some English and some French, we wend our way through the mysteries of language to talk about things that matter.
One thing I learned is that Ukrainins believe that 30 days after someone has died, their soul departs their bodies and goes to heaven, or some afterlife. It's the tradition for people to gather round to honor this journey. They wanted to know if we had such a tradition in America. I said we don’t have this tradition, but lots of people believe it. I’m not sure I do, I added, but I WANT to believe it. We all agreed about this, we all WANT to believe, and we went on from there. It feels good to communicate on this level, something Luba and I cannot do but wish we could.
While we chatted, Rita and Polina played games and drew. As they left to go swimming, the girls presented me with gifts of their pictures. How sweet! It made my heart sing, and evoked a flood of memories of my children's and grandchildren’s drawings. Kids, friends, and sharing. It’s what gives life meaning. Keeps us grounded. Keeps us going. The art of friendship.
While we chatted, Rita and Polina played games and drew. As they left to go swimming, the girls presented me with gifts of their pictures. How sweet! It made my heart sing, and evoked a flood of memories of my children's and grandchildren’s drawings. Kids, friends, and sharing. It’s what gives life meaning. Keeps us grounded. Keeps us going. The art of friendship.
No comments:
Post a Comment