This was in 2004. I was then earning extra as an English teacher on private courses. It was the holiday of 9 May. In the morning the director of the courses rang me and asked me to “teach English (the director of the courses did not know foreign languages, so that is how she put it) in 1.5 hours one adult girl, for good pay.” I decided not to refuse the extra work and agreed. I rang the girl, and in an hour she was already at my home. ...

After Raisa Titovna’s dismissal, personnel reshuffles took place in the shop. Mama was offered the post of salesperson in the manufactured-goods department, they appointed a new shop manager who was able to unite the collective, remove the shortcomings and work without a shortage. The bosses “from above” put forward demands — fulfilment of the plan. The salespeople’s salary depended on this. And here is how they had to wriggle. Usually goods were brought to the shop by one and the same vehicle — a goods van. The driver was called Kolya, a small, lively fellow, a dancer of the world-famous Virsky ensemble, on pension (at 35 they were thrown out of the ensemble onto pension). The manager would arrange with Kolya a trip “to the district,” namely to Zolotonosha or Zhashkiv for the Sunday kolkhoz market. ...

After Raisa Titovna’s dismissal, personnel reshuffles took place in the shop. Mama was offered the post of salesperson in the manufactured-goods department, they appointed a new shop manager who was able to unite the collective, remove the shortcomings and work without a shortage. The bosses “from above” put forward demands — fulfilment of the plan. The salespeople’s salary depended on this. And here is how they had to wriggle. Usually goods were brought to the shop by one and the same vehicle — a goods van. The driver was called Kolya, a small, lively fellow, a dancer of the world-famous Virsky ensemble, on pension (at 35 they were thrown out of the ensemble onto pension). The manager would arrange with Kolya a trip “to the district,” namely to Zolotonosha or Zhashkiv for the Sunday kolkhoz market. ...

Having worked two days off at the till in the grocery shop, mama still decided not to sit at home, but to try her strength in another place. Next to our house there was a little manufactured-goods shop, and there too they needed a cashier. I think in manufactured goods at the till there was not such a load as in the grocery shop. And at a family council we decided that mama should work there, although my sister did not yet go to kindergarten, but I could stay home with her until lunch, since I went to school in the second shift, then papa came home for lunch for an hour, then in the manufactured-goods shop there was a break from 14 to 15 hours. And a pensioner from the neighbouring house, Faina Mikhailovna, also agreed to help us nanny for a couple of hours. And by 17.30 papa would return from work and already always walked with the child in the evening, until about 7. ...

I have already written in my recollections of life in the “khrushchevka.” I understood little then that this was a hard period in our family’s life. It was hard for my parents! After my sister was born in 1963, the family’s material situation naturally did not improve, but worsened, and mama had to think how to go out to work and at the same time give attention to the family. ...

To this day I still do not know whether this is really a quotation of V.I. Lenin or whether it was already invented in Soviet times by the trader-party people, but that I saw this slogan in the assembly hall of the Ministry of Trade, in the city of Kiev, in the 1980s of the last century — that is a fact. Personally I had “no relation” to trade in those times, but my friend was very proud that she had managed to get a job in this Ministry of Trade, in a new 24-storey building on Lvivska Square. And one day I visited her. She met me at the entrance and took me to the library, where she worked. We walked through the assembly hall and she pointed me to the poster, adding: “You see, Ilyich did not forget to set the trade workers on the right path either.” Then she smiled and quietly said: “I tried to find this quotation in his original sources (I remind you, Lenin wrote 55 volumes), but in vain.” ...

The little dog, literally before the eyes of the whole crowd of onlookers, began to grow sharply, turning into a strong unmanageable dog, which, breaking off the lead, began to run and jump around the crowd. And the owner, not standing such a shock, fainted! The crowd began to shout: “A doctor, a doctor! We need to call an ambulance!” (Everyone had already forgotten about Vova, and Vova himself had already shrunk to such a size that he could fit in the sleeve of his jacket!) ...

Vova stands on the snowy path and cannot move from the spot; the sleeves of his jacket have become so long that they already drag on the ground, and having taken a step, Vova understood that with such sleeves he would not get far. He sat down on the path and wept bitterly. And two steps from him stood two women with prams, in which their infants slept peacefully. They were talking animatedly, turned toward each other, and of course, carried away by their conversations, paid no attention at all either to their sleeping children or to weeping Vova. Two sailors were passing by. They saw little Vova. They thought he had fallen out of a pram. They took him in their arms; Vova did not even have time to say a word before he found himself in a pram next to a sleeping infant! ...

“Ivanov?” asked Doctor Nebolit. “Ivanov,” answered Vova. “And how did you guess?” asked Vova. “I didn’t guess, I simply asked,” answered Nebolit. “Well then, come into the office, Vova Ivanov, take off your jacket and sit down, tell me why you are so sad today?” “I don’t want to go to school. Today MariVanna promised a maths test and a Russian dictation. And I’m lazy!” “A hard case!” said Nebolit sympathetically. “And maybe there is something that you are not lazy about?” Nebolit continued to ask. “There is one occupation I am not lazy about…. sitting on the fence and eating sweets! And in general, I want to be little!” “Ah! Well that is a fixable matter!” answers the doctor. “British scientists very recently invented two medicines: one medicine for rejuvenation, and another for growing up. They are called accordingly the Green and Red pills. I’ll write a prescription now and you’ll be able to buy them at the nearest pharmacy.” ...

There is it, there is this inspiration in me today! Once upon a time long ago, as far back as 1972, a children’s book by an unknown children’s author appeared in our house, titled “The Green Pill.” This book was read “to holes” by my papa and my younger sister. I want to present my free retelling of this fairy tale. “There lived a boy Vova, his surname was Ivanov, he went to school, to third grade. Vova had a little brother who lay in a pram and did nothing. But for some reason this little one was given the most attention by mama, and papa, and grandmother and grandfather. And Vova could only watch and listen as everyone admired this baby. ‘Ah what a pretty one he is, ah what a clever one he is!’ At the same time Vova’s mama would manage to ask Vova: ‘Have you done your homework? Don’t forget to buy bread when you come back from school.’ (This was Vova’s sacred duty — to buy bread, returning from school.) And Vova so did not want to do anything. He just wanted to sit on the fence with a caramel in his cheek. ...