☀️❄️My warmest childhood memories all trace back to the long summer holidays and cozy winter breaks spent at my grandparents’ house.

🏠That place wasn’t just a home—it was a whole world of adventure, mischief, and love.

⚽️ I remember playing soccer with the local boys’ squad until the sun dipped low behind the fields. 

🚴‍♀️ I went on “secret missions” by bike with my cousins, fueled by nothing but imagination and curiosity. 

🍅☎️⛸️We sold homegrown vegetables and fruit at the farmer’s market, pulled harmless phone pranks on strangers (with a giggling partner-in-crime by my side), and learned how to skate on the frozen lake in winter.

🍟🍔One unforgettable day stands out—visiting the very first McDonald’s in Kyiv in May 1997. The photo from that day still brings a smile to my face.

🛟These memories are more than just moments; they are my emotional support system. 

👵🏻Looking back now, I realize just how lucky I was to have had such a happy, carefree childhood—and it’s thanks in large part to one incredible woman: my grandma.

💟My “babusia” (Ukrainian for granny) played a huge role in raising us. She has always been supportive, encouraging, and endlessly caring. 

🎂Last Saturday, she celebrated her 89th birthday—a milestone made all the more remarkable by the strength and grace with which she continues to live.

📝The greatest lesson I’ve learned from her is this: never give up, no matter the circumstances, regardless of the obstacles. It’s a belief she lives by, even now—embracing life as it is, while living through the second war of her lifetime.

🌠Though we’re apart, we share a dream: to hug each other again. I haven’t seen her in person since 2019. I hold on to hope that we’ll be reunited soon, once peace returns.

🫂So today, I want to say: cherish every moment with the people you love. 

🗺️As the saying goes, “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”

#grandma, #family, #love, #childhood, #memories, #lovedones, #cherish