Dedicated to friends
Many years ago in Russia, people did not go to see psychologists. Women met in the kitchens and men in garages. It was there among friends they could share their grief, hear words of support, and maybe advice.
Who chooses friends for us? Universe, circumstances, fate?
Maybe it’s all together?
There were three friends (female). They were close in age, married, had two children, lived in the same neighborhood.They walked with the children in the same Playground. And in bad weather days they met in the kitchen. They were similar but had different views on life, hobbies and interests..
Ira got a divorce around the time Olga had her third child. Lena was quick to advise her to look for a husband abroad. After the fall of the Berlin wall, many Russian Germans moved to Germany. Marriage to a German was no longer unusual.
As a child in school, Ira studied German. This could help in the fast development of the language.
Lena tried to persuade her but Ira refused. She referred to the negative experience of Russian women who didn’t find happiness in an international marriage with Germans.
* Keep in mind that everything was happening over several years, not over one month.*
After all Lena tired of persuading Ira. Her personal divorce from her husband was a matter of time. Lena also wondered about a foreign husband, preferably fin. Finland is very close to Russia, and the climate could presumably be similar to Siberian. “Presumably” because Lena had never been to Finland or any other foreign countries.
Their friend Olya on the contrary began to travel abroad. She went mainly to Turkey with her children, and to Europe with her husband. Olya thought about learning English, just to be more confident in traveling.
Lena really liked this idea. She couldn’t find any courses in the Finnish language. She suggested that knowing English might help in the future. Lena began to learn English in parallel with studying at the banking school. Ira was admitted to the University in her specialty. Olya was taking care of her family, three sons made her hands full. .
10 years (or about) later
Ira received a promotion at work and a proposal from a Russian. She lives with her fiance. She wants her kids to figure out their lives.
Lena is married to an American. She has a very simple life: home-work-home. Her kids must figure out their lives simply because she is far away from them unfortunately for her.
Olya is married to the same man. She doesn’t need to learn English anymore. Every summer she spends on the Black Sea in Russia and only sometimes goes abroad with her family. Now she has time to take care of herself while her kids want to figure out their lives.
They remain friends, despite the distance and rare communication on the phone.
There is no competition about who has a better life. There are only years flying by and distance between countries and cities. And there’s always the hope of getting back together in the kitchen.
Good friends are like stars. You don’t always see them, but you know they’re always there.
Unknown
