I would really like to compose a legend about each of my kind, maybe even an epic song, the characters and destinies of the people who surrounded me since childhood seem so epic to me. You don't even have to write anything. Without possessing any extraordinary abilities, they were warriors, served on legendary cruisers, were testers of nuclear submarines, doctors, teachers, first-class workers, combine operators, steelworkers, skilled needlewomen, chess players and football players. And most importantly, very cheerful, open and hardworking people . They say that several generations ago there was a very famous and rich man in my family. According to legend, he lived in Poland, was a skilled groom and bred horses. And then the revolution happened and the man was gone. Back then it was not customary to talk about it, and that’s how the thread was lost. Our grandfather was extraordinary. Chairman of the collective farm, a big boss at that time. Grandfather was very active: he subscribed to and read a lot of magazines, raised bees, traveled all over the country... He was the eldest son in the family. Great-grandfather Agapius and grandmother Tekla lived a long life. I remember my great-grandfather with a very stern and purposeful look. I owe at least my curly hair to my great-grandmother. They both went through wars and illnesses, but until the last they worked and loved each other. Until the last day, my great-grandfather himself combed his great-grandmother’s long, unruly hair and braided it into braids. So they raised three sons, each of whom was a very extraordinary person. In general, grandfather was heard and seen everywhere, and this is the part of the story that only now becomes a little clear to me - what kind of person should my grandmother have been to live with such a person?! And my grandmother was a mathematics teacher at school. Maybe my love for the queen of sciences comes from her? But this only seems very romantic, because this is that rare case when the profession itself says a lot, but still oh so little. As usual, in the village they had huge vegetable gardens, livestock, and even two rogue sons. And everything is not at all like in fashion magazines about country life: if there are vegetable gardens, then several, and also vineyards, so that there are a couple of tons of wine in the cellar, if there are livestock, then chickens, and geese, and ducks, and rabbits, and nutria and pigs. I can’t imagine when all this could have been done. And you have to understand that there were no washing machines or miracle stoves. There was a well, to which I personally still ran for water, a huge stove and sometimes electricity. And despite all this, there was a huge place inside for admiring life, there is no other way to say it. Grandma loved roses very much. For as long as I can remember, her house always smelled of flowers and fresh bread. She grew huge bushes of crimson-scarlet roses. The entire space around the house was filled with roses, tulips and vineyards. When she was cooking in the kitchen by the stove, the windows looked right onto these bushes. When grandma died, there were no flowers either. They had a stove in their house, where she always baked bread, sweets, and signature pies herself. Pork, rabbit, nutria, a huge cellar of wine and preparations. When I remember this abundance now it seems to me that this could not have happened. But grandma’s bread remained fresh for several weeks and this was a reality. In general, my grandmother was very economical and a needlewoman. While she could see, she embroidered, knitted when the need arose, learned to sew, and made her own fur hats. As they say now, she had no choice, because there was a time when she had to support herself. At the same time, she was also a fashionista - I still have her handbags and some dresses, which I still don’t dare to remake and change it on yourself. Vintage jacquard would look very advantageous now). But what’s surprising is that I always remember her smiling, joyful and cheerful. I know that she had a character, but she was the first to joke and laugh. There were always a lot of guests in the house. Everyone gathered on the veranda at a huge table, the doors opened wide, so anyone from the street could