Anton and Victoria Makarsky: interviews 2018

– We managed to look around and love this city long before we settled there. First, the Lavra is the spiritual center of Russia. Secondly, for ten years now we have been going to plunge into the holy spring, the Gremyachy Klyuch, to live on the land of St. Sergius is a great joy and a special responsibility.

– I can’t imagine a better place to live for our family. The places here are so picturesque that when I flew on business to Italy in the fall, to one of the most beautiful valleys – Orchi, I was, let’s say, very surprised that nature is incomparably more beautiful near Sergiev Posad! The Abramtsevo estate is one of our favorite places for walking. And everything is very tasty here! We buy local farm products that are always fresh. And it seems to me that there is nowhere else such a restaurant as opposite the laurel. And of course, the most important thing is people. Intelligent, kind, not tortured by the bustle of the metropolis.

– I don’t have them yet. There is always something to do. The only time when my conscience doesn’t bother me that I’m not doing something is on the plane. There I can watch a movie or read a book, so the flight for me is a rest!

– Immediately! I have a hostel upbringing, and the door in our house does not close. Neighbors are practically like relatives, we do not choose them. But there are really amazing people living next to us. It is worth learning from them openness and willingness to help in any situation.

– Our neighbors are young people with small children. We are all friends, everything is positive! It is already obvious that our children will spend more time with friends in the yard than with tablets at home. There is also a children’s playground, a football field and a sports ground. Older boys arrange real competitions. Even our traffic police officers in the summer bring a car with a loudspeaker during the match to cheer for this or that team! Kids imitate older boys, Vanechka cannot be pulled out of the football field in the summer, he loves to play the ball, and I am grateful that the older guys do not chase him away and play with him for about ten minutes as with an adult. Agree, such an attitude is very rare in our time. When one of the neighbors has a birthday, you can immediately feel it by the smell of barbecue, which is usually fried right on the porch. We visit each other. We dream next summer to attach a porch-gazebo to our townhouse and complete the arrangement of an orchard and a recreation area around the house, with benches and a barbecue.

And in winter, a large living Christmas tree is installed right under our windows, and children from all over the region lead round dances, slide downhills and make snowmen. A real winter fairy tale!

– Our children have grown up. Masha is five, Vanechka is two and a half. My daughter went to kindergarten last year. But children are taken there only from the age of three, so when Vanechka’s turn came, they sent him to a private one. Neither Masha nor Vanya had any period of adaptation. We are very lucky with teachers. Vanechka, in general, is in love with his teacher, the beautiful Siberian Nastya. At home, children can sometimes quarrel, a toy or a mother cannot be divided, but as soon as strangers appear in their field of vision, Mashenka shouts “This is my Vanechka!” runs to protect her brother, a fighting girl, does not give offense to her.

There is a main understanding: we are one family! And those quarrels and disagreements that occur, where without them, everything ends with forgiveness, reconciliation and hugs. By the way, this also applies to adults.

– We still have a clear separation – daddy’s daughter and mama’s son. When we are all together, children behave perfectly. Difficulties arise when one of the parents is away. But Masha is already an adult, more and more often she travels with us to performances and concerts. A little more, Vanya will grow up, and we will be touring with the whole family.

– We try to give so much love to children so that, in principle, they do not have feelings of jealousy. But, of course, sometimes Masha can make a complaint: “Why do you devote more time to Vanya?” I have to kiss my daughter and explain that while he is little, he needs more care and attention. But the unity of the children is colossal. The way we prepared Masha for Vanya’s appearance had an effect: we immediately said that we were giving birth to her brother as the most important gift in life. She treats him as if he is a treasure, says: “We both grew up in the same tummy!” And he will definitely add: “But I am the first!”

– Last year, my sister Monika moved to us from Minsk, she quit her profitable business when she found out that we would have to invite a nanny for our son. So she said: “I won’t trust my Vanenka! Give me two weeks to close all my business, I will help with the children until they go to school, tour calmly. ” Then from the cadet school in Minsk, where Monika’s 14-year-old son, my beloved nephew, an excellent student Levushka, studied, his teacher called and said: “Monika Nikolaevna, either come back yourself, or take your son to your place in Moscow, a transitional age, she is slowly starting to be on the sly! ” In general, Lyovushka also moved to live with us. My grandmother, my mother, having finally rested from all the worries, realized that she was very bored with living in Minsk alone. Having made a test trip to us and finally feeling that her son-in-law really loves her very much, and most importantly, the mother-in-law really does not bother anyone, she decided to come for the winter. “If I don’t bother you, I’ll stay for the summer, I’ll do a seam for the winter,” she said. Mom chose her own room, she is the quietest, most secluded and closer to the kitchen. She gets up very early and meets everyone in the kitchen with coffee and the latest news (mother-in-law is aware of all world political movements).

– My grandfather served as commandant for 8 years in Germany, in the cities of Schwerin and Hagenow. The classes at the school for the children of the embassy and commandant’s employees were very small, and the best teachers were sent from the USSR. Mom still remembers the entire school curriculum and is happy to share her knowledge with her beloved grandchildren. In addition, she is a physician, and Mashenka is very interested in everything related to medicine. And how grandma reads “Cockroach” to Vanechka! My grandfather at one time categorically forbade his daughter to enter the theater institute, and all her creative abilities grandmother inimitable and sometimes funny to tears realizes at home. Our friend, Father Seraphim from Nazareth, always compares my mother to the actress Faina Ranevskaya. And without a hat and red manicure, Anton’s beloved mother-in-law is simply impossible to imagine.

Galina Nikolaevna calls me tenderly – Antosha. And I am her exclusively mother, but “you”. And how wonderful mom cooks! My wife’s family is from Belarus, their signature dish is all kinds of potatoes. The way mom, Monica, Vika fried her is a masterpiece! Each housewife has a different taste. But I ask you not to indulge her often, I want to be in my weight category longer.

– All responsibilities are distributed depending on our work schedule with Anton. We try to let everyone go to rest as soon as we return from concerts, and we take over all the responsibilities of the house and childcare. In a family where everyone loves and respects each other, everyone does what they can do here, today, now. We help each other and insure each other in all situations. The family is big, it happens that someone “runs out of batteries” and loses their nerves, then the poor fellow is urgently removed from all affairs, and goes to sleep with earplugs in his ears. This is usually enough to stop any stress. And, of course, it is impossible to exist in a large family without an excellent sense of humor, which is able to defuse the atmosphere in any situation.

– Almost all our households are allergic. Therefore, we did not plan to have a cat or a dog. But the children made their own adjustments to family principles. Mashenka, a born cat lady (like Anton’s mother Elena Mikhailovna) began to “turn” into a kitten every evening, walk on all fours, meow and ask to pour milk into her saucer. Once again, when dad found Masha in the kitchen in the pose of a kitten, lapping milk from a saucer, it was decided to google on the Internet if there are cats that are not allergic. The mother-in-law immediately warned that she was not mentally ready for a naked Scythian, as she was afraid of having a heart attack if he accidentally entered her room at night. Vanechka generally wanted a dog, Anton asked to find a long-lived pet, explaining how difficult it was for him to bury his beloved dog in his youth …

– … Monica asked me to find a neat and smart one, Levushka was wisely silent, I tried for a long time to find a suitable breed on the Internet, which completely lacks aggression towards children, and as soon as I despaired and realized that you couldn’t please everyone at once, I saw a Pixie Bob! First thought: “What a horror! Home lynx! ” But, after reading the reviews of the owners, I realized that there is no better option for us. A smart antiallergenic neat long-liver with no aggression, which has many qualities of a dog: running after a ball, walking on a leash, wagging his tail for joy and attached not to the house, but to family members – this is it! They returned from the cattery as happy owners of a three-month-old kitten Ryski, later discovering in the documents that she was born on the same day as Vanechka, on May 31st. Cats of this breed up to three years old are considered kittens, it grows with the children, they like to frolic together. Ryska takes part in everything: she is always with us, no matter what we do, she certainly participates in everything.

– No-no! I can’t stand this anymore! And this is impossible with our schedule. The cat still walks by itself, and the dog is unlikely to feel good during our many trips.

“We don’t take the Chinese tradition of naming each year after animals seriously. I personally do not want to live in the year of the Pig or the Snake. Therefore, for the sake of the Chinese tradition, we will definitely not have a dog. Vanya has a favorite dog in the yard – Funtik. They are friends, play together, and Funtik loves to visit us and eat Monichka’s signature cutlets.