A Life; A Start

Born twenty three years ago in Tver, Russia, I lived in a home with no running water and no plumbing until moving to America eleven years later, with my mom becoming a catalog bride. My mother, then twice divorced, agreed to go to a dating agency with her friend, had her photos taken, her information recorded and placed in a binder of dozens of desperate, confused and curious Russian women, all looking for something other than what they had. Because often they had very little and more often than not, what they had was barely enough to survive. And sometimes, that included my mother.

Remembering the life I had then is akin to reciting aloud a novel I read as a child. The memories are faint and dull but persistent. They are simple fact, but seem more amazing with each year. And yet, there I am, as a child, inside my mind, in the photos and in the reflections of my mother's eyes. Yes, it happened. But how?

This hesitation is why I pland on spending some time writing down recollections, share memories and reminisce about a life that is now distant, impossible and very dear.