Summer. What does it mean to me? Every age has its own summer.
Childhood with its carefree spirit and reckless joy.
My childhood 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 that just wouldn’t leave me in peace. There were always chores waiting. I remember the blackcurrant season. We had so many bushes. During harvest, there was a quota: one full bucket of berries per day. Oh, and that bucket took forever to fill🤣. Summer is the time spent at my grandfather’s apiary, somewhere out in the fields. It’s the scent of grass and flowers mixed with honey 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.
In youth, 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. Now shared by two. That made my heart beat faster, and the thrill of the water’s chill only grew stronger. Summer meant dates until dawn and the trills of nightingales learned by heart. No more early birds. Mornings were spent recharging for the next night’s rendezvous.
Maturity with confidence andprinciples.
Nowadays, you can plunge into summer at any time, regardless of the season. It’s great, of course! But it’s not the same, it’s artificial. Watching summer gradually take over feels more special. The changing riot of blooming colours and aromas in the air seem to say: ‘Wait just a little longer’. And this makes the anticipation even sweeter and less boring. Maturity is a wonderful age when you can do anything! (My friend told me this secret) 😉
The coming autumn of life. I don’t know what it will bring...
It seems to me that, at this age, 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 bright colours of the rainbow, and turn a dreary, joyless life into a celebration at the twilight of our years.
The choice, like the way out, is always there! And it’s ours to make...
1997. I am 17 years old. The familiar world is falling apart. Chaos and decay everywhere. 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 and her eternally hungry teenage daughter. And then a stroke of luck! Mum, who avoided trade like the plague, somehow managed to sell the sack of flour she received at the factory instead of salary. Suddenly we were rolling in money. Time to live large!
In my 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 peanuts inside. 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 searching for the nuts with my tongue so that I could combine both flavours in my mouth before this mix journeyed farther down.
I used to make short work of that cake, since I’ve always had an awful sweet tooth. The only thing left to do was gathering every remaining crumb of meringue from the box. A kind of an apotheosis tinged with bitterness.
Enjoy the little things. Life is so fleeting...
That turned out to be the last time I tasted a Shakhtarskyi cake.
Why does the memory of that dessert come to mind now? Perhaps because it felt like a 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 the little things. Life is so fleeting...
This text became a kind of therapy, written through pain and tears. I have let go of that moment in my life. It’s such a weight off my mind. Now I can take a deep breath and live without fear of tomorrow 🌞🌈
