\u201cI\u2019m passing on the baton,\u201d my sister said, holding out the tiny little socks as she arrived at Mykolas\u2019 \u201cquarters.\u201d
\nI smiled.<\/p>\n
Once again, in my hands were HER fluffy, miniature first socks.
\nThe same socks that now would snugly hold the feet of the sixth child in our family.
\nWarming not just with their sweet tradition of being passed along, but with the story of how they came to be.<\/p>\n
When I was a teenager, our family decided to move from our city apartment to a house in the countryside.
\nAfter long searches and considerations, our family plan \u201cworked out.\u201d
\nWith great curiosity and wide-eyed wonder, my sister and I were taken to see our new home.<\/p>\n
The little house wasn\u2019t fancy.
\nBut the belief that we could make it cozy outweighed the slightly uninspiring view.<\/p>\n
In the yard, we were greeted by a lively, barking dog.
\n\u201cThis is Liksa,\u201d the homeowners introduced.
\n\u201cYou\u2019ll want her\u2026 or put her to sleep?\u201d they added casually.<\/p>\n
We were moving into an apartment, so we couldn\u2019t take a kennel dog with us.
\nMy childish eyes went wide.
\n\u201cPut her to sleep?\u201d
\n\u201cDead???\u201d my still-very-childlike mind exploded with questions.<\/p>\n
A dog is not a product.
\nNot a \u201cbonus\u201d you take or leave when buying something.<\/p>\n
No one put Liksa to sleep.
\nWe didn\u2019t even let such a thought go further than far.
\nAs if in gratitude for the right to live, she became our friend.<\/p>\n
For me, a kid \u201cfrom the apartment\u201d\u2014to have a dog\u2026
\nAnd not just any dog, but a fairly big one\u2014was a huge joy.
\nI walked her across the meadows.
\nAnd when my parents weren\u2019t watching, I\u2019d invite her to my room.<\/p>\n
So when my own children later looked at me with big eyes saying, \u201cWe want a puppy,\u201d my childhood memories stirred, remembering how much I had wanted one.<\/p>\n
Liksa was of West Siberian lineage.
\nPeaceful.
\nBeautiful.
\nSmart.<\/p>\n
When it was her \u201cfeeding time,\u201d we\u2019d take brushes, groom her, and collect her fur.
\nThen, with great love and using an old spinning wheel, my grandmother\u2014now sitting on her cloud\u2014spun the wool.
\nAnd those beloved hands knitted baby socks.<\/p>\n
The first to \u201ctry them on,\u201d 13 years ago, was my sister\u2019s firstborn, Fausta.
\nBack then\u2014Lucija.
\nThen the baton passed to my Dominykas.
\nThen\u2014Patricija.
\nThen it returned to my sister\u2019s family to warmly cover Jono\u2019s little feet.
\nAnd now\u2014it has come back to us again\u2014for MYKOLAS.<\/p>\n
In this way, my very first dog, whom we \u201cinherited\u201d and saved from suddenly becoming unwanted, warmed the FEET OF ALL OUR FAMILY CHILDREN.<\/p>\n
My sister and I have probably finished the \u201cbaton race.\u201d
\nI smile at the thought tucked in my mind: maybe one day it will be picked up by the feet of our grandchildren?
\nAnd it will become a beautiful \u201crelay\u201d story.
\nFor the next generation\u2026<\/p>\n
V.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","class_list":["post-17644","istorija","type-istorija","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/viktorijos.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/istorija\/17644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/viktorijos.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/istorija"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/viktorijos.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/istorija"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/viktorijos.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}