My Little Star Girl

My Little Star Girl

I’m looking at the white blank laptop page in front of me and thinking, ‘What should I start my parent story with? When did it all actually start? Would my children have become somehow different people if we hadn’t done this or that the way we/me considered to be right?” Well, I believe every parent wants to be a good one. So do I. Have I always been right dealing with my kids or life situations? No, I’m afraid not. I’m only human. They need to see the life in all shades of it to understand the problem is always there, unfortunately. It’s all about the attitude to the problem. As they say, weak people see the problem, while the strong look for the solution. Would you agree?

Still, everything starts from love… There should be love between father and mother. You cannot forge relationship in the family. Your children would spot once something goes wrong. No sense to pretend.  And yes, it takes two to tango. Therefore, ideally kids should have both parents constantly taking care of them and participating in their life. I won’t claim that either father or mother is more important. I guess they both would have plenty to do upbringing their children. However, there are moments when one of them is more in demand than the other, depends on the situation, right?

Well, currently there are three of us as a core family, me, a qualified English Teacher, mother in her late forties, Oles’, my 27-year old son and Zoriana, my 19-year old daughter.  Oles’ has graduated as MD. He is working as medical scientist in International Clinic of Medical Rehabilitation in Lviv, Ukraine, and medical writer for the American company. By the way, he has just married a charming girl Natalia, MD.  Being faithful to his childhood dreams of “treasure hunt” in the neighborhood and writing (issued and sold his own magazine being in elementary school!), Oles’ is into travelling and exploring the world in every sense of the word. His logical mind along with creativity, ambition, leadership and business skills let him see beyond the usual limits. I bet the biggest discoveries and inventions belong to rebels. There must be a natural curiosity to open the door to the unknown. Let your children dream, teach them to set and achieve goals.

This fall my lovely daughter is starting her fourth year at Kyiv National Economic University named after Vadym Hetman, Law Department.  What’s more, since April, 2017 she’s been working part-time as an Associate in a Law Company. Pretty unusual for a 19-year girl, ha? Well, she started there as a paralegal. Besides, there had been almost a year of working at University Justice Clinic as a legal adviser volunteer.

By the way, Zoriana means a Star Girl(“zoria” in Ukrainian is a star). Her buddies just call her Zoria.

Well, here where the story might begin,…with a Tower moment in the happy family of four.

“Just remember, the sweet is never as sweet without the sour, and I know the sour” (Brian, Vanilla Sky)

Early morning, Monday, 8 February, 2010, Kamianka-Buzka. It is a city in Lviv Oblast, Ukraine, 40 km (25 mi) to the north-east of Lviv with a population of 10.779.

That shocking morning will always be the coldest morning in my life.

The night before Oles had left for his students’ hostel, Lviv. He was 18, in his second year at Medical University.  That time I worked as a High School English teacher and Zoriana was 11, a sixth grade pupil of the same school. I and my students were about to throw an English party. Zoriana had to play a Pussy Cat and recite a funny poem with music and dancing.  She had learned the poem but the dancing. Frankly, she is not the one into it. While I love my daughter and dancing. Therefore, we had been practicing in front of the hall mirror, when my husband, Artur, came back home. He looked at Zoriana’s awkward moves and couldn’t hide his smile. He was 44, a proud father, well-known and respected doctor in our little town, Kamianka-Buzka District Dermatovenerologist.   Due to his bright, sociable personality and position in the policlinic he was pretty popular in Kamianka-Buzka District.