Gaby
I just don’t understand people who complain about what to do after work. For me and my kids, there’s never a shortage of ways to spend our free time. What do we do with it? First and foremost, we read—especially poetry—aloud; we selectively watch TV shows and then discuss them; we visit the drama theater, the organ hall, art exhibitions, and new displays at museums…
However, more often than not, our family gathers around one of our collections, and that’s when the magic begins. We collect everything. I inherited this passion from my father, who, despite living in a village in Poland, amassed hundreds of rare books, primarily historical ones, along with numerous encyclopedias and reference books. Unfortunately, during the war, that unique library was destroyed. I revived the family tradition, and now our library boasts nearly two thousand volumes on world history and Ukraine, art, ethnography, and fiction, written in many languages, along with dozens of dictionaries. From a young age, I taught my children to appreciate books and to restore them; in a way, I instilled in them a reverence for the written word. One son was responsible for keeping the library tidy, while the other handled lending books to neighbors, friends, and classmates. The more people who use our library, the greater our joy. The whole family (especially the kids) is involved in expanding the collection. We gather in the evenings, and often each of us has a new acquisition—sometimes with a hint of bragging: “I got ‘Marusya Churai’ by Lina Kostenko,” “I got ‘Selected Works’ by Vasyl Symonenko,” “I got…,” “I got…”
In addition to books, we collect reproductions of paintings, for which I enlist the help of my acquaintances. Sometimes, to “acquire” a reproduction of a desired painting, I have to scour all the kiosks and shops. Once a month, we meet to organize the collection. This often leads to debates and appeals to encyclopedias. As a result, we have compiled and organized nearly all reproductions of outstanding works of Ukrainian and European painting into four large albums, categorized by countries and “schools.” One particularly valuable album is dedicated to Shevchenko, featuring over six hundred portraits of the Great Kobzar (including artistic, graphic, sculptural, embroidered, and minted representations, among others).
My wife, Evelina Timofeevna, a teacher of chemistry and biology, has taken up philately and has involved our eldest son, Sergey, in it. One of the albums they created is titled “From Lily of the Valley to the Queen of Flowers, the Rose” (170 entries). Sergey started collecting New Year’s postcards and filled two albums with them. Since our family travels a lot, he always buys sets of tourist postcards wherever we go. Our youngest son, Vitaliy, took up photography. This led to the idea of a series of albums titled “Architecture of Ukraine” (“… of the Union,” “… of Europe”).
Vitaliy couldn’t resist collecting either. His passions include postage stamps, old coins and banknotes, matchbox labels, artistic photos, humorous philately, records, and cassette tapes of Ukrainian folk and pop songs.
Some might say, “But that’s just spending money!” Of course, it is. But some people spend three times as much on beer. Finally, relatives and neighbors throw away hundreds of magazines every year, which contain invaluable materials.
If someone asks, laughing, “And what do you get from those albums? What do they give you?” A lot. First, involving all family members in a common pursuit strengthens our bond. Second, collecting has immense educational value. For instance, anyone who created an album on “Architecture of Ukrainian Cities” has mastered geography and has at least a basic understanding of art. And what a unique pleasure it is to showcase your treasures to guests, relatives, and everyone who visits during the evening get-together. Believe me: the table has long been set, the potatoes have cooled, the hostess has invited everyone to dinner multiple times, yet the guests can’t tear themselves away. Because it’s a whole Amazing World. Give it a try—you won’t regret it.
