05/29/2026
It is a Special day today for my family and me!!
It would have been my mother’s 100th birthday today. I wish she were still with us.
My mom was a remarkable Russian woman — smart, kind, strong, brave, and audacious. She lived through World War II and proved herself to be a true hero.
In the early spring of 1945, the Germans had taken over my grandmother’s house in the village of Vertyachiy and turned it into their headquarters, forcing my mother’s family to live in the basement. The Germans were retreating in panic as the Russian army and partisans attacked. My mother, only 19 years old at the time, noticed that one of the rooms was empty. She quietly slipped inside, grabbed a strategic map, and ran through gunfire and shrapnel deep into the forest to deliver it to the partisans. My grandmother was terrified and furious when she learned what my mother had done, but that was who my mom was — fearless, determined, and unstoppable once she set her mind to something.
After the war, she became an engineer and worked at the Tractory Factory, but her true calling was teaching. She attended a Folk University and became a teacher at a vocational college. She loved sports and excelled at rifle shooting, earning several awards.
She was also a loving and devoted mother to my two brothers and me. We never had much money, and my mom often bought clothes from secondhand stores, but she was incredibly creative and talented. She could remake and redesign anything — even sew me dresses overnight.
One of her dreams was to own and drive a car. After retiring, she finally bought a small car and learned to drive. She and my father loved gardening, and together they bought a little summer house — a dacha — where they planted fruit trees, berries, and flowers. I still remember my mom happily driving her little car there.
She was always my biggest supporter. When I applied to a very competitive and prestigious university program, it took me three years to finally be accepted into the School of Foreign Languages — my dream. Through every setback, she encouraged me never to give up.
I am who I am because of her. She taught me to keep moving forward no matter what, and to pursue my goals and dreams with courage and determination.
When my mom passed away, I planted a flower garden in her honor.
You are always with me — in my heart and in my thoughts.
Love you, Mom.
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