Summer.What does it mean to me? Every age has its own summer.
Childhood with its carefreespirit and reckless joy.
Mychildhood summer felt like slow awakenings to the chorus of countless birds,stirred either by the gentle touch of a warm sunbeam or by a pesky fly thatjust wouldn’t leave me in peace. There were always chores waiting. I rememberthe blackcurrant season. We had so many bushes. During harvest, there was aquota: one full bucket of berries per day. Oh, and that bucket took forever tofill🤣. Summer is the time spent at my grandfather’s apiary,somewhere out in the fields. It’s the scent of grass and flowers mixed withhoney and beeswax. It’s the dry, dusty air of the sun-scorched Donetsk steppe.And, of course, books. Lots of books. Nobody ever cancelled summer reading lists.Nor the joy of plunging into the cool water of a pond or river. The sea — eventhe Azov Sea — was an unattainable luxury.
Youthwith its hopes and faith in the future.
Inyouth, summer meant the heady scent of linden trees, so intense late in the evening.Or maybe… it was just the tipsiness of first love? And still the same pond. Nowshared by two. That made my heart beat faster, and the thrill of the water’schill only grew stronger. Summer meant dates until dawn and the trills ofnightingales learned by heart. No more early birds. Mornings were spentrecharging for the next night’s rendezvous.
Maturity with confidence andprinciples.
Nowadays, you can plunge intosummer at any time, regardless of the season. It’s great, of course! But it’snot the same, it’s artificial. Watching summer gradually take over feels morespecial. The changing riot of blooming colours and aromas in the air seem tosay: ‘Wait just a little longer’. And this makes the anticipation even sweeterand less boring. Maturity is a wonderful age when you can do anything! (Myfriend told me this secret) 😉
Thecoming autumn of life. I don’t know what it will bring...
It seems to me that, at thisage, it hardly matters: winter or summer, autumn or spring. Days get languidand long, each much like the other. Only the clothes change with the season.Yet it all lies in our hands. Only we can paint grey weekdays in the brightcolours of the rainbow, and turn a dreary, joyless life into a celebration atthe twilight of our years.
The choice, like the way out, is always there! Andit’s ours to make...
1997.I am 17 years old. The familiar world is falling apart. Chaos and decayeverywhere. Lean purse coupled with hunger… Yet I am full of hope and faith inthe future.
Mum was running in circles, like a hamster in a wheel, trying to feed herself andher eternally hungry teenage daughter. And then a stroke of luck! Mum, whoavoided trade like the plague, somehow managed to sell the sack of flour shereceived at the factory instead of salary. Suddenly we were rolling in money.Time to live large!
Inmy hometown, there was a hugely popular cake called Shakhtarskyi (Miner’s).Buying one was always a challenge, but that pastry was my absolute favourite.It combined the Kyiv cake (minus butter) with meringue and roasted peanutsinside. On top was an image of a mine headframe, dusted in cocoa.
Oh,what bliss it was to savour the snow-white, crunchy meringue while searchingfor the nuts with my tongue so that I could combine both flavours in my mouthbefore this mix journeyed farther down.
Iused to make short work of that cake, since I’ve always had an awful sweettooth. The only thing left to do was gathering every remaining crumb ofmeringue from the box. A kind of an apotheosis tinged with bitterness.
Enjoythe little things. Life is so fleeting...
Thatturned out to be the last time I tasted a Shakhtarskyi cake.
Whydoes the memory of that dessert come to mind now? Perhaps because it felt likea feast during the plague. Moments of joy like that are sharper, more precious.And what’s my point? Simply that we must treasure every moment and enjoy thelittle things. Life is so fleeting...
Thistext became a kind of therapy, written through pain and tears. I have let go ofthat moment in my life. It’s such a weight off my mind. Now I can take a deepbreath and live without fear of tomorrow 🌞🌈
