It’s not necessarily that I managed to squeeze in so many activities in one day. It’s not about numbers. It’s about the fact that throughout the whole day, I did what I wanted, things that were important to me and that I didn’t want to miss.
And also – I had many people’s interactions. I talked to the people in my neighborhood, and that’s what I didn’t do enough recently, especially because the winter was long and the spring was cold.
I talked to the florist from whom I bought the annuals for my balcony, I talked to many vendors at the crafts fair, I talked to the artists in the Greenleaf Center, and to the people at Grant Park.
Funny thing. I felt like I spent tons of money during the day because I bought from so many vendors. But when I sat down in the evening to record all my spendings I realized that it was way less than I thought. I believe it’s because all the interactions, whether I purchased something or not, were meaningful.
My name is Henrietta (Hettie) Dombrovskaya. I was born in Saint-Petersburg, Russian (actually, back then – Leningrad, USSR) in 1963, and immigrated to the United States in 1996.
I love Saint Petersburg, the city I was born and raised in, and I think it’s one of the most beautiful places in the world. Similarly (but differently) I love Chicago, and can’t imagine myself moving somewhere else in the observable future.
I have three children, Igor, Vlad and Anna, all adults living on their own, and one (so far) granddaughter Nadia. I also believe that my children are the best thing that happened in my life.
As for my professional life, I am working in the field of Information Technologies. When I was twenty, I’ve declared that the databases are the coolest thing invented and that I want to do them for the rest of my life. Thirty plus years later, I still believe it’s true, and still, believe that the databases are the best. These two statements together imply that I think a person can have it all, and indeed, I think so! Keep reading my journals to find out how I did it.
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Hettie's Reflections 