They Read this Blog in Russia?!

October 18 -- Lately,  I have been getting a lot of hits from readers in Russia.  Or one reader who is hitting the blog several times -- it's impossible to tell.  I mean, let's be serious here, it's not like I am getting a TON of hits but certainly more than average from one country.  To which I say -- cool!!  But my next question is, really?  I mean is there really someone in Russia who can read English and...I don't know, cares about what is going on in a small town in the USA with an aging woman who made a dopey goal to write in her blog every day?  (And eat chocolate and drink wine -- both items checked off my list for today as I sit here and write this entry.)

My name is actually Russian -- Tania.  When my mom, who is from Germany, picked out the name for me, my dad, who is from Poland, got really mad at her.  He hated Russia for what they did to Poland.  His father was killed by Russian soldiers who invaded Poland and attacked and killed when they were supposed to be aiding the Poles.  He was an anti-communist and wanted nothing to do with the country.  My mother, however, just liked the name.  She didn't really care about the politics.  After all, they were living in a new country and were starting their dream life living in a home they owned and working at a steady job with health insurance and, most importantly, living each day without the fear of being bombed in the middle of the night and losing everything.  Funny thing is that when my mom was pregnant with me, my dad was busy building our house.  His dream house.  For his family.  And when I say he built it, I mean that literally.  He would leave his job as a machinist at 4pm and would head over to the house and work until midnight.   So the battle over my name became lost in the drama of the housebuilding effort.

Personally, I am okay with it.  Time has passed and I do not share my father's issue with Russians.  And now that he is battling dementia, I don't think he cares anymore either.   But I digress.  Suffice it to say that this World Wide Web is certainly a great way to unite people.  I guess.  Jury is still out on that one...