They gave birth to too few children
“You know, Anechka, I am so sorry now that we didn’t give birth to a brother or sister to our daughter. We lived in a communal apartment, five of us in the same room with my parents. And I thought - well, where else is another child, where? And this one sleeps in the corner on a trunk, because there is nowhere to put a crib. And then the husband was given an apartment through the service line. And then another, bigger one. But the age was no longer the one to give birth”.
“Now I think: well, that's why I didn't even give birth to five? After all, everything was: a good, reliable husband, a breadwinner, a “stone wall”. There was work, a kindergarten, a school, circles … Everyone would be raised, raised to their feet, arranged in life. And we just lived like everyone else: we all have one child, and let us have one”.
“I saw my husband babysitting the puppy, and I thought - but these are unspent fatherly feelings in him. His love for ten would have been enough, but I gave birth to only one …"
They worked too hard to the detriment of the family
“I worked as a storekeeper. All the time on my nerves - suddenly they find a shortage, they will write to me, then - the court, prison. And now I'll think: why did you work? My husband had a good salary. But everyone just worked, and so did I.”
“I have worked in a chemical laboratory for thirty years. Already by the age of fifty, no health remained - she lost her teeth, her stomach, and gynecology. And why, one wonders? Today my pension is three thousand rubles, and it won't even be enough for medicine.”
Promotional video:
In old age, looking around at the life they have lived, many simply cannot put their minds to it why they were holding on to this work - often unskilled, not prestigious, boring, hard, low-paid.
They traveled too little
Most elderly people name travel, hiking, trips among their best memories.
“I remember how we went to Baikal as students. What an unearthly beauty there!”
“We went on a cruise on a motor ship along the Volga to Astrakhan for a whole month. What happiness it was! We were on excursions in different historical cities, sunbathing, swimming. Look, I still have photographs!”
“For the weekend we decided to go to Leningrad. At that time we still had the twenty-first Volga car. Seven hours driving. In the morning we sat down to breakfast at Petrodvorets on the shore of the Gulf of Finland. And then the fountains started working!”
They bought too many unnecessary things
“You see, we have a German porcelain service for twelve in our buffet. And we have never even eaten or drunk from it in our lives. ABOUT! Let's take a cup and a saucer from there and drink tea from them, finally. And choose the most beautiful rosettes for jam”.
“We went crazy about these things, bought, got, tried … But they don't even make life more comfortable - on the contrary, they interfere. Why did we buy this polished "wall"? They ruined the whole childhood for the children - “don't touch”, “don't scratch”. And it would be better if there was the simplest cabinet here, made of planks, but the children could play, draw, climb!"
“I bought Finnish boots for my entire salary. We then ate for a month on one potato, which my grandmother brought from the village. And for what? Has someone once started to respect me more, treat me better because I have Finnish boots, while others do not?”
They talked too little with friends, children, parents
“How I would like to see my mom now, kiss her, talk to her! And mom has not been with us for twenty years. I know that when I am gone, my daughter will miss me in the same way, she will miss me in the same way. But how to explain this to her now? She comes so rarely!”
“I gave birth to Sasha and in two months I sent him to a nursery. Then - a kindergarten, an extended school … In the summer - a pioneer camp. One evening I come home and understand - a stranger lives there, a completely unknown fifteen-year-old man.
They learned too little
“How few books I have read! All business and business. You see, what a huge library we have, and most of these books I have never even opened. I don’t know what is under the covers”.
They were not interested in spiritual matters and did not seek faith
“You know, my whole life of believers was somehow afraid. I was especially afraid that they would secretly teach my children their faith, tell them that God exists. My children are baptized, but I have never talked to them about God - you yourself understand, then anything could have happened. And now I understand - the believers had a life, they had something important that passed by for me then”.
Author: Anna Anikina