Sunday, May 31, 2026
I remember feeling very nervous to meet Zaks grandparents, 9 years ago, as at that point in my life I had half a shaved head and blue hair! I remember Nat walking up to me and seeming genuinely excited to meet me, giving me a big "Welcome to the family hug" and the now known phrase "Well hello there". His warmth seemed to grow once he found out that I too loved garlic and that I also knew a few Ukrainian phrases. Our conversations in Ukrainian were very short and private so I won't go into detail of the things we spoke of, but I will let you have a glimpse of what our conversation sounded like from listening ears:
The conversation usually started with me saying something in Ukrainian to him. Then him responding very excitedly back. Then me not understanding what he said, would say something completely unrelated and he would wave his hand and say, "Ahhhh, I can't hear you!".
I can't say I have one favorite memory with Nat but more of a grateful feeling to have had known him. He was the definition of a comfortable and joyful person to be around. You couldn't help but smile and laugh in the presence of his jokes and remarks. Even if he couldnt hear a damn thing he always looked content and happy to be included in what ever family event was taking place. Zak and I have both agreed that there are only good memories of time spent with grandpa.
Except for maybe one time....
Shortly after Zak and I had been living together we made the trip to North Battleford to see his grandparents. If you've visited Nat and Doreen you know that the cards and thimble come out soon after the hellos are said. I wasn't familiar with the game Kaizer, but everyone assured me I would catch on to it quickly. I, however, did not catch on quickly and at the end of a long evening of trying to figure out what was going on, the game ended and we all retired to bed. I looked at Zak that evening and very seriously said, "I think your grandpa is conning us", to which Zak replied, "What?".
I said it again then said, "You know Zak, I can understand and speak some Ukrainian and your grandpa is speaking Ukrainian and saying "Ni No" at the beginning of each game. Do you know what that means? It means he doesn't know!
Ya ne znayu( я не знаю)- I dont know! And then.... he wins every single time!! He's playing us!"
Apparently, Nat was not playing us. He was bidding 9 no trump, and was just the master of Kaizer. And I, still did not understand the game. However, I forgave him and life moved on.
Some people may not know this but Nat had a gift for predicting the future. He predicted the gender of both our boys before they were born - forget the part that my husbands family genetics are basically all boys, until recently when the first great-grand daughter was born. He also predicted that Zak and I would get married the same day as our youngest sons baptism, as it just made sense since we, "Already had the priest booked!"
Well he was very much correct when we announced that afternoon: "Surprise! We're getting married!"
He was a man who truly enjoyed the little things- birds, thimbles, mini frying pans, garlic, a little rum and of course his little great-grand children. He often shared his secret to living a long, happy life with us:
Every evening take one clove of garlic, one shot of rum and don't take life so seriously.
ура за Ната
нехай часник буде міцним
і ром нехай буде холодним
дай боже нац
Cheers to Nat!
May the garlic be strong,
And the rum be cold.
God bless Nat!
