On family history, parenting, education, social issues and more
Author: Hettie D.
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.
I gave a Pottery Class Christmas gift to Nadia and Kira, but Kira got sick the morning of the day I was going to pick both of them up in Milwaukee. After discussion with Anna, we decided that I will still take Nadia for that class, and figure out something else for Kira.
Looks like it was for the better, since the class turned out to be way more advanced than advertised. Although no previous experience was needed, there were a lot of instructions, which Kira probably wouldn’t like :).
Nadia and I had a great time, though!
Nadia’s bowlMy orchid pot
After the class, we went to Ryo Sushi, then to Amorino gelato, and spent some time at the Art Institute Ryan Center on some crafts. As Nadia put it, “it gives her an inspiration.”
Time well spent :). Also, Nadia made a Valentine for me:
I don’t know what happened with me, how I could be such an idiot! I already missed “Salome” once, when I had some urgent work right after I returned from Helsinki. When I realized I would miss another opera while I am in Helsinki next time, I decided to exchange my ticket for the last performance of Salome, especially because my neighbor was raving about it!
I can’t explain why I was so strongly under the impression that it would take me an hour to get from my home to the Lyric Opera on Saturday night. I mean, yes, it’s an hour door-to-door, excluding wait time and any delays, but one shouldn’t rush into the Opera House just as the show is about to start. I had no objective reasons not to leave earlier, but somehow, in the very moment I was walking out the door at 6:32, I realized what a big mistake I had made!
The train slowly pulled in, then stopped right before Jarvis, and the lights went off, and I tried not to think about the worst possible delays I might face. I knew that Salome runs with no intermission, so if I were late, that would be it.
The show start time was 7:30, and at 7:21, I was still on the train, departing Grand, which meant one more stop, an escalator up, and running for several blocks, and I thought – no chances, but miraculously, at 7:31, I was entering the Opera House, and the ushers were waving me in saying that the doors will be closing soon.
I could not believe my luck! My seat was in the second row, all the way on the right, so I didn’t have to ask people to get up. However, a gentleman who placed his coat on a free seat by him was not happy :). He started to explain to me how strictly the Lyric observes the start time, and how I should know…
Anyway, I made it! And the show was breathtaking … It is staged in the pre-WWII fascist Italy, so all libretto references of “arguing Jews” take all new meaning, as well as the story itself… Only when I was on my way home did I realize that no one in the audience clapped during the performance itself – that’s how everyone was captivated with what was going on stage.
I rarely post pictures of food these days; for a change, these are the pcictures of the dinner my neighbor and I had before the Thursday concert. She turned 75 earlier this month, and we wanted to have a nice dinner together. The Thomas Club on the 9th floor of the CSO building is always a good idea, and there we went.
In addition to the occasion itself, there were two things I wanted to mention. First, I could never imagine the stuffed shells being an exquisit dish, but here they were! Unbelivably delicios! And second – just a thought – why all of sudden a tiramisu has bunny ears:)? Let it stay a mystery!
Composer Joel Thompson credits the inspiration for his orchestral work To See the Sky to a single line from the song “Thunderclouds,” written by jazz vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant: “Sometimes you have to look into a well to see the sky.”
To See the Sky, which had its world premiere in March 2024 by the New York Philharmonic, under Jaap van Zweden, is Thompson’s longest orchestral work to date. “It gives an indication of his future music,” said Patrick Summers, artistic and music director of the Houston Grand Opera, where Thompson is composer-in-residence through 2027. “With no hyperbole, To See the Sky is music of extraordinary beauty and deep content. To hear an orchestra of such dazzling quality as the New York Philharmonic bring Joel’s imagination to full life was a very moving thrill.”
Commissioned by the American Composers Forum, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Aspen Music Festival and Bravo! Vail Music Festival, To See the Sky will be performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, under Jaap van Zweden, in concerts Feb. 12-15.
Thompson has said of his work: “The movements outline a non-linear journey toward healing.” “He has achieved this in every possible way,” said Summers in a video interview posted by Houston Grand Opera. “The listener’s emotional journey of To See the Sky is more than simply satisfying; it is cathartic and self-realization. Quite an achievement.
“Primary among his many gifts is an ability to juxtapose several musical styles simultaneously, forming a melodic and colorful musical narrative that anyone can understand, but which also challenges virtuoso musicians like these,” Summers said. “To See the Sky was 20 minutes in length, and the musical material could easily have been twice that. One wanted it to last longer. Large-scale structures like opera are clearly in his DNA, based on a work like this.
The composer himself was in the audience and came up on stage!
And next was an absolutely stunning performance of Himari, a fourteen-year-old prodigy, and I don’t know what to say, because no words can describe her! Fortunately, I just found on YouTube the Max Bruch concert she was performing on Thursday, an
I completely agree with one of the comments on YouTube: There are violin prodigies then there is Himari.
I can’t believe I was there, in the first row, experiencing her magic!
This week was full of amazing cultural discoveries, and each time I felt like everyone except for me knew about it!
On Wednesday, I saw the musical The Outsiders, and I went there not knowing anything about the book. Meanwhile, the story of this book is remarkable – Susan Hinton wrote it when she was only 19, and The Outsiders is considered to be the Number One in Young Adult literature. Well, I didn;t go to school in the US! There are movies and theatrical performances based on this book – and the musical. It’a one of these shows which make you think: how come people wrote this amazing literature many years ago, and the world is still violent?!
Recently, I had two conversations that I keep thinking about. Folks with whom I talked were right: it is becoming increasingly difficult to express your opinion in public settings, especially at work. I understand why many people would rather avoid charged political conversations; in the days when just saying “DEI” sounds rebellious, those in good jobs want to keep their jobs and do not want to give their bosses any reason to reprimand them.
I get it. But here I am, in a privileged position of being able to retire any time, and pretty much fearless, and wanting to step up. I told those with whom I was talking that the change can only come through people. I saw it so many times canvassing, and I heard even more of those stories from Anna. If not now, then when? If we are not speaking up, then who will? And if nobody speaks up, how can the change happen?
In both conversations, the people I spoke with said that the only safe space these days is with family. Others said it takes time to build trust with people, and that one should speak only on neutral topics until that trust is established. And once again, it’s hard to disagree with that statement, but I can’t stop wondering why people with racist views do not hesitate to share them publicly, and do not care about making other people uncomfortable.
It’s very sad to see how fast fear can become dominant in people’s thoughts, and how we are always just one step away form succumbing to this fear. And I can also see it in Russia that when the whole country is afraid, a dictator can do whatever they want. I hope that we won’t let it happen!
This is a very long opera! I was back home close to midnight, so even though I went straight to bed, I got just four hours of sleep. I do not regret – the voices and the acting – both were great, and I was not even against the idea of semi-modernizing the settings. I just think they should have been more consistent, and if they moved the action to Maryland, they should also have said 1900-something, not 1790. Especially since they had the old-fashion automobiles siluettes on the background :).
Since public transportation ridership is rapidly returning to pre-pandemic levels (I know many doubt this, but I experience it every day :)), I had to switch to the earliest commuting wave. When I started my current job, I used to take the 7:15 or 7:30 train, and occasionally the 7:00 AM train. However, these days, there is no chance to find an open seat on eitgher of them, so I switched to 6:30 AM, which was luckily added about a year and a half ago, When it was just added, there were barely five people waiting for it on the platform, but now there is a small crowd, and I have to rush in to find an open seat. And if, for whatever reason, I am not making this train, I am taking the L.
On Monday, I took a day off because I needed to do several conference-related and mom-related things, and I left the house at an uncharacteristic 7:45 AM. A CTA attendant at Jarvis station was visibly surprised to see me at the wrong time :). It was very interesting to observe the crowd on later trains, especially closer to the Loop. Early morning is for service workers, people working shifts and some occasional crazy IT like me, or contractors all all kinds, trying to start their billable hours as early as possible. Later, it’s a time for traders and the rest of the IT, especially working parents, who have no choice of commute time. And an hour later felt like students and freelancers commute. I was surprised to see that L-trains were even more crowded that an hour earlier, and I think it’s the Metra/CTA difference. Metra is officially out of the rush hour by 8:30, but the CTA rush hour continues. That’s the loudest and the friendlies crowd of all, with the least smarphone usage during commute, if you can believe it. They actually talk!
Mom’s God-given case manager L. visited her on Friday. She texted me an apology that she might be 15 minutes delayed, ended up being on time, and texted me again that she would wait for me to come. Pure angel.
Gave both of us a million hugs, told me how to talk to the agency, and increased mom’s help hours to 83/month. Mom finally started to realize that this is going to be a huge assistance for her, so now, instead of blaming me for “I didn’t react properly” on her fainting episode, she tells me that “I didn’t explain to her” what I was planning to do.
On Monday, I took her to her doctor for the check-up. I was not surprised that he didn’t find anything wrong with her in general, but I was surprised that there was nothing visibly wrong with her left leg. All neurological reactions were fine. He said that, obviously, fainting is not normal, but three weeks later, it’s hard to tell what was wrong.
Mom was very happy with the results of this visit and immediately went on a long walk with her caregiver. The good part about her ordeal is that she came to turms we needing more help, and hopefully she won’t be getting out of the house on her own.
Hettie's Reflections 