He cannot even imagine how much pain and tears this seemingly ordinary profession hides in itself. And he blurted out this offensive line to uplift his family!
My daughter-in-law will never understand me, because she grew up in completely different conditions and did not cope with the hardships of the nineties. Furthermore, her parents were not particularly affected by the crisis, as they lived in Germany at the time.
Nika was born and raised in a family of Russian immigrants. Her father was a scholar and traveled to Europe to access the archives of Schiller, the German philosopher and playwright.
I am not strong in philosophy, as well as in the humanities. At one time I graduated from a technical high school and worked in a factory. Everything was perfect for a Soviet woman of that time.
She graduated, went to the factory, met her future husband, gave birth to children, sent her to kindergarten and back to the car. I was happy with this pace until the crisis forced the business I worked for to close quickly.
Until this dramatic moment, my colleagues and I, including my husband, had not received a salary for four months. And after the completion of production, we were paid meager amounts, and the rest was paid in crystals, which still had nowhere to go.
Then I felt the reality of the situation our family was in. My husband and I are unemployed, our children are hungry, our pockets and refrigerator are empty. But a lot of crystal!
I had no choice but to learn to sell. I dare to boast: in those days I was able to sell quite a few crystal dishes and I was able to exchange something for food and clothes.
My husband was completely inactive. When he was fired, he didn’t think of anything smarter than sitting on the sofa, complaining to relatives about fate and drinking.
I realized that the whole family depends on me and the provision of two small children, my husband and I, fell on my shoulders. With the money I received, I bought plane tickets and flew with a friend to Turkey.
No, don’t rest. We hoarded clothes there and brought them home to resell. It took me a long time to get used to the shuttle role. If psychologists were so popular at that time, they would have diagnosed me with various complexes and injuries.
I, formerly a beauty and fashionista, stood in the cold with weathered red hands, cheeks and nose, with a wool scarf tied at my belt. All this so that my family doesn’t go hungry.
My husband saw how hard it was for me, but he couldn’t help me with the work. Vasily could only be seen at the factory and did not want to retrain. But my husband started helping me with the house and raising my children.
So we switched roles with him. I worked as a shuttle for four years until I got a job in my profession. I dragged my husband after me otherwise he would have stayed at home.
Times were not so difficult, unbearable! I have not had the opportunity to work abroad. It took me a long time to get used to the reality of the new profession. But I succeeded and pulled my family out of poverty!
My husband and I managed to pay for our children’s education. The eldest son met his wife while practicing in Germany. She has no soul in her and I can’t stand arrogant people in my spirit.
Let’s try once again not to cross paths with either the daughter-in-law or her relatives. My ears are dropping to the haughty words of her father. You talk so boringly about Western philosophy and how people pay too little attention to it. Therefore, many callous and internally lonely. She looks out of this world!
Once I was so fed up and tired of listening to all this that I made it clear that the matchmaker was engaged in frank nonsense and chatter. Nika got angry with me, denoting that “the old shuttle woman is not given to understand the thoughts of wiser people from the past.” For example, my brain is sharpened for something else.
Oh, I don’t care about the young fool’s opinion. However, my daughter-in-law sustained an injury that I have dreamed of forgetting all these years. Young people will never understand what we experienced in our youth. My husband and I survived as best we could and the children grew up in incredible conditions.
So being a shuttle in the nineties is not a sin! And growing up with everything prepared and showing unrelenting disrespect for elders is low! I didn’t express my dissatisfaction with my son, but I’m sure he understood everything.
I haven’t invited my son’s family to my home for a long time. He wants-let him come to me after work. I am always happy for him. And he let me not drag his habalka into my house, much honor!
Readers’ materials are posted in the “Reader’s Opinion” section.
