The penultimate day of my annual vacation in Croatia was extremely beautiful and filled with emotions towards dear people whom I rarely see. That day I first visited the village where my mother came from and where I spent the first three years of my life. Afterwards, I returned often, as long as my grandmother was alive. It somehow happened that my grandmother passed away shortly before I moved to England and my visits to my grandmother's village almost disappeared. Of course, the village is not the same without my grandmother, but I regret that I kept only rare contacts.
This time, I first went to the cemetery, where I lit candles and took flowers to my grandmother and grandfather. That visit to the cemetery made me somehow happy because it seemed to me that I almost, even briefly, touched my grandmother. Still under the impression of the cemetery, I went to visit a friend from my childhood Predrag, whom I don't remember the last time I saw, but it has been decades. Although so much time has passed, I immediately recognized Predrag's smile and for a moment I felt as if I had gone back in time, to the time when we were children. On this occasion, I met Snježana, Predrag's wife, and I really liked her. After the visit, I sent her a link to my blog, and she surprised me by reading almost all the articles in a day or two. I am happy that I found friends again in Predrag and Snježana and I will try to nurture that friendship from now on.
The day continued with a visit to my dear cousin Nikola and his family, with whom I have stayed in touch. Considering that my mother was a single child, I don't really have anyone from that side of the family except my cousin Nikola and his sister Višnja. Nikola is a successful businessman, with a wide network of friends and with a big heart for socializing with food and drinks, most often in his cottage on the slopes of Moslavačka Gora. As a great gourmet, Nikola enjoys preparing fine dishes and specialties, and this time the choice fell on fish paprikash and freshwater fish from his pond, on the grill. The fish stew was so delicious that I don't remember the last time I ate something so good and tasty. Nikola's cottage is actually his grandmother's renovated house and that's something that really inspires me. My grandmother, who is also Nikola's aunt, would be happy to know that we hang out and appreciate each other so much after she is gone.
At the end of this exceptional day, I felt happiness and felt that I had once again renewed the connection with my roots. I hope to pass on at least part of that feeling of fulfilment and belonging to my child who is no longer a child.
Kristina
Saturday, July 8th, 2023
Veza sa mojim korjenima
Moj predposljednji dan godišnjeg odmora u Hrvatskoj bio je izuzetno lijep i ispunjen emocijama prema dragim ljudima koje rijetko viđam. Taj sam dan najprije posjetila selo iz kojeg potječe moja mama i u kojem sam i ja provela prve tri godine svog života. Poslije sam se često vraćala, sve dok je moja baka bila živa. Nekako se dogodilo da je baka preminula nedugo prije što sam se odselila u Englesku i moje posjete bakinom selu su gotovo nestale. Selo bez moje bake naravno nije isto, ali žao mi je što sam održala samo rijetke kontakte.
Ovaj put sam se najprije uputila na groblje na kojem sam baki i dedi zapalila svijeće i odnijela cvijeće. Ta me posjeta groblju učinila nekako sretnom jer mi se učinilo da sam skoro, skroz na kratko, dodirnula svoju baku. Još pod dojmom groblja otišla sam u posjetu prijatelju iz djetinjstva Predragu, za kojeg se ne sjećam kad sam ga zadnji put vidjela, ali broji se u decenijama. Iako je prošlo toliko vremena Predragov osmijeh sam odmah prpoznala i na trenutak sam se osjećala kao da se vrijeme vratilo unazad, u vrijeme kad smo bili djeca. Ovom sam prilikom upoznala Snježanu, Predragovu suprugu i jako mi se dopala. Nakon posjete poslala sam joj link svog bloga i ona je u dan-dva gotovo sve članke pročitala i sa tim me iznenadila. Sretna sam sto sam u Predragu i Snježani ponovo našla prijatelje i nastojat ću to prijateljestvo od sada njegovati.
Dan se nastavio posjetom mom dragom rođaku Nikoli i njegovoj obitelji sa kojim sam ostala u kontaktu. Obzirom da je moja mama bila jedinica ja zapravo i nemam nikoga sa te strane obitelji osim Nikole i njegove sestre Višnje. Nikola je uspješni poslovni čovjek, sa širokom mrežom prijatelja i sa velikim srcem za druženja uz hranu i piće, najčesće u svojoj vikendici na obroncima Moslavačke gore. Kao veliki gurman Nikola uživa u pripremanju finih jela i specijaliteta, a ovaj put izbor je pao na riblji paprikaš i slatkovodnu ribu iz njegovog ribnjaka, na grilu. Riblji paprikaš je bio toliko ukusan da se ne sjećam kad sam zadnji put nešto tako dobro i ukusno jela. Nikolina je vikendica zapravo renovirana kuća njegove bake i to je nešto što me zaista inspirira. Moja baka, koja je ujedno Nikolina tetka, bi bila sretna da zna da se družimo i uvažavamo toliko vremena nakon što nje više nema.
Na kraju ovog izuztnog dana osjetila sam sreću i osjetila da sam još jednom obnovila vezu sa svojim korjenima. Nadam se da ću barem dio tog osjećaja ispunjenosti i pripadnosti prenijeti i na svoje dijete koje više nije dijete.
Kristina
Subota, 8. srpnja 2023.
Comments