Not my words.....

I try to be as realistic and authentic in describing the things that we see and do, here in Ukraine, in this blog. But they remain the words of an outsider. I want to put here, in full, a message I received yesterday from a woman (A) we have got to know, in the constantly shelled city of Kherson.

"Hello, how are you? Today,  my daughter and I visited the main street of the city after almost a year. I watched her chase pigeons and smiled at that how a child rejoices in just sunny weather and that on the street, though there is a short silence. There are no explosions. I would so much like this silence to last longer, so that the war would finally end and the baby (child) could go to the 1st grade of the school, because she missed 2 years of education in kindergarten. This is not the kind of childhood I wanted for my child. Not such words as war, explosions, arrivals, departures, mortars, shelter, danger should be taught by (to) a small child. Before the child woke up with the words: mom let's go to the playground. And now: Mom, let's go for  humanitarian aid.

I find receiving something like this brings a whole range of emotions. The most important of which is that I am so lucky to know this person and be part of their lives. We shall see them again soon.

This morning I had a long shift at the school in Lviv. I can't begin to describe how much pleasure I had in spending time with these students. I hope they found it useful. I'm aware that we are moving away and will, after next week, no longer be at that school. I know that the reasons are correct. But I will miss them. Just as I do the children in Ivanivka. And all the children I have taught.

They all have a resilience, that is yet to fully form. But there's no doubt that they, and their generation, will have a role to play in Ukraine's long term future.