My family - Моя семья

I'm Alex Kovalev. I am fifteen. I'd like to tell you about my family.

We are a family of three. I live with my parents. But I've got an elder brother. He is married and has a family of his own.

In my opinion, family is an emotional centre of a person's life, transmitter of culture, the place where children are being raised. The process of upbringing children is difficult. It requires much effort, mutual respect, tolerance. In happy families parents are frankly honest with their children without moralizing, and the children in their turn learn how to get on with other people.

The proverb says, «Men make houses, women make homes». In my view, it means that the man provides for his family, pays attention to the problems of the members of the family. And the woman creates the homely atmosphere, encourages her husband and children to keep up family traditions and keeps the house. Together they bring up their children in the right way.

It is true to our family, I think. My parents have been married for twenty-six years. My father's name is Vitaly. He is 45 years old. He is an engineer at a Motor Plant. He is tall and strong both in body and character, but rather stout. He has plump oval face with an aquiline nose. He's generous and full of joy, but very careless. He can make different things with his own hands. Almost all the bookshelves in our flat were made by my father. 

My mother's name is Irina. She is a medium size woman. She has got a thin oval attractive face and light grey eyes and a snub nose. When she was young she had thick curly ash-blond long hair, now she wears her hair short. My mother is a woman of character, well-bred, tactful and fair. She's warm-hearted and at the same time practical, reserved and full of common sense. She is a housewife, she does all the housework and helps my elder brother to bring up his sons. She is really concerned about them. They are the apple of her eye. And the boys feel affection for their Granny. My father and I try to help her about the house.

My brother Igor is about 25. He is married, as I have already said. He has got two sons. My elder nephew is a spitting image of my brother and the junior one takes after his mother, my brother's wife. The boys are funny and curious.

We have got a lot of relatives, because my mother has got five sisters and a brother. So I've got many aunts, uncles and cousins. We are all on friendly terms.