In memory of my grandma

Today is two years as my grandmother Natalia passed to a better world. I want to recall here the bright tracks she left in my life in education, insightful thinking, life experience, and a slew of advice she conveyed to me in at times strange and funny Russian.

Born Torgashova in 1907 in Tsaritsyn she was the youngest daughter in Adrian's, hatter, family. She had three older brothers but her father could afford to send only her to a grammar school. For him this fact (not successful business or own house) was the achievement in his life. The Communist Revolution and the following Civil War broke their life. When WW-II started she had lost her first husband in Stalin's camps and left alone with her old mother, a 12 year old son, 5 year old daughter, and just born another son from the second husband that had gone to the front. She didn't evacuate  and stayed in the city (then Stalingrad) with the family bearing all the troubles (if I can use this word to describe life during the bloodiest battle in human history) on her self. They all survived and continued living in Volgograd restoring it from scratch. Soon after the war ended my she gave birth to my mother.

She was a school teacher teaching language art, reading, and German. She retired as a school principle and devoted herself to community activities by becoming a chairwoman of a community trail (something similar to mediator in civil cases).

Her mission in the life was to give high education to all her kids and to "grow them decent people". She had been repeating this phrase a countless number of times as the motto in her life and the message she wanted to pass to us. She succeeded in both missions. All her kids got a second degree in medicine, engineering, and music.

She tremendously valued the family principles and all the time, while she was with us, all her kids with their families came to our house every weekend - she was the cornerstone of our big family. She had a bit strange but hilarious sense of humor and on the topic of families told me often (waiting a moment when my wife could certainly hear it) - "rOmushka,  you won't take a yoke off your neck once you put it". She called people succeeded in anything but family building "good-for-nothing" and could not stand divorces. Being a irreligious person almost all her life she nevertheless believed in Haven's involvement in the marriage.

During all the day I've been recalling her face, phrases, songs, jokes; the way she talked and educated us - not lecturing but through stories and baizes; the values she did succeed to instill into our life principles. I think she would be happy and proud of me did she know I'm getting my second master and we're waiting for fourth child:-)

Living all her life in very narrow circumstances she lived her life up to the same principles - being a decent person and making the family  the foremost important and unshakable value. I hope we'll succeed too to pass her life principles to our children and bless her memory.

Comments

[Thomas Otter]

What an impressive woman, and fitting that you should write about it..