Homage to My Guardian Angel…

This week the night sky became brighter. Heaven got another guardian Angel, my beloved grandma…

It is sooo hard to lose people we love, and even harder when they are thousands of kilometers away. When you don’t even get a chance to say a proper goodbye…

But today I would like to celebrate my grandmother, one of the strongest women I’ve ever known and ever will. I refuse to remember her being fragile. I refuse to remember what three strokes did to her. I choose to remember my grandmother as a strong, beautiful and independent woman full of life that she was.

If you ask me what comes to my mind first when I think about her is her cooking. I can still recall the smell of her creations: pyrogies, pies, pyrizhky… You name it. She could make it all and it was delicious! She made salad wraps even before they became cool, just an FYI.

I remember her gentle hands despite the hard work she had done. She loved working in her garden. She planted everything from vegetables and fruits to berries and beautiful flowers. It was always such a treat to step into her world and pick whatever my heart desired or even climb a cherry tree or read a book in the shadow of its leaves.

She was a great singer. My grandmother was a part of a university chorus during her student years. People she met there became her lifelong friends that she kept on visiting every year until her health permitted. As a matter of fact, she even had videos made of her singing for my wedding that she couldn’t attend. It was her passion. I can still hear her powerful voice that always invited everyone to sing along…

My grandma was an early riser: she would be up long before dawn. She loved being on the go. My brightest memories are the ones of us swimming or playing badminton together. Our badminton matches lasted forever. You know, we just had that synergy thing going. Oh, and dancing! She loved to dance with me during cool summer nights to the music playing at the central square in Chernihiv.

We regularly went for walks at a big park right near her house. My grandma always let me climb the old canons there, and I thought it was soo cool.

She loved going to watch plays at the local opera. I remember us waiting in the hallways and me being mesmerized by pictures of actors. To me they looked like superstars, so dreamy and put together… We went to a children’s theater, too. I can’t recall any of the performances in specific, just the feeling of being completely and utterly elated. Way to spark up a child’s curiosity and creativity!

My grandma was, is and will always be an undeniable part of my identity as a grown woman. I am so grateful that she had a chance to meet Justin and see Sofia, even if only on Skype… But for now, I have to say goodbye… Please, hug grandpa for me and watch over us and Sofia…

Till we meet again, babusya… I love you…

Olena