Her name was Love. Lyubov in Russian.
Every moment spent with her, I felt incredible acceptance and unwavering belief in my ability. I cannot begin to describe how much of ME happened because of HER. From the two decades of operatic adventures (I still have that Mario Lanza tape she bought to introduce me to opera) to the world of books (check out my favorites here) to the fascination with travel (she managed to visit Europe even during the Soviet times) to my love affair with nature (she had the utmost reverent attitude towards it) to countless other deeds and aspirations.
Today marks 17 years since my grandma’s transition.
Her passing set off the first bereavement I’d ever experienced: a pertinacious, torturous, and excruciatingly meaningless period in my life. Not that my other loved ones had never passed away before, they’d had. But this was a deeply intimate and trusting relationship. At the time, my babushka was the only person in the whole wide world with whom I shared my innermost hopes and dreams. We had a profound connection.
Sometime after her passing, it struck me that I lost a person who had the most beautiful feeling for me – unconditional love.
It all started when I was 2 months old. My mom developed a chronic illness and needed help taking care of me. Dad was working double shifts at the hospital and was away most of the time. That’s how mom and I ended up coming to her parents (my grandparents) where we stayed for the next 10 months. Grandma saw my first steps and heard my first words, let alone all the mundane things she had to do to help take care of me. Naturally, we developed such a strong bond. So strong, in fact, that her legacy lives on.
First, I adopted her maiden name as my stage name – that’s how I became Peter Nasonov. Then, I launched peternasonov.com. The rest is history.
Today, as I look back, I realize how blessed I was to have had a woman with such kind heart as my grandma.
And although this reminiscing drives me a tad nostalgic (mainly because she didn’t get to see many of the things she envisioned for me), I am forever grateful for all the love from grandma Love.
