"It feels like they have knocked the ground out from under your feet"

The human life is an interesting thing. You live quietly, peacefully, calmly. Bit by bit you solve some minor problems, everyday troubles, which before the war seemed to us like a global catastrophe, a big disaster.

And only when the war comes, you begin to realize how small and insignificant these problems really were.

You straightaway start to rethink your whole life, value and cherish what you have: your family, children, loved ones and relatives. You understand - this is the most valuable thing that you have, the most precious thing.

You miss the most seemingly simple things, quiet family dinners, when the whole family is gathered at one table and is laughing, discussing something.

You remember how we prepared children to school, rejoiced with them in their small victories and achievements, how we bought them gifts for the holidays, prepared the eldest son for his graduation ball, how he received a diploma ...

And suddenly here is the war.

It feels like the ground has been drastically knocked out from under your feet, and you stand like a confused little child, not knowing where to go and what to do next. How can you live if you were forced to leave your home, saving the lives of children, and with an small amount of money in your pocket, waiting until all this is over.

The worst thing is that you do not know when this war will end, and you must someway survive, at least for the sake of the children. You feel the most regret for them. And it's a shame that children should experience all this with us, and no one wants us with our calamity.

Very often we can hear in our back that there is something wrong with us that and we create some problems for others, as we are refugees from the ATO zone. After such words, maliciously thrown in your back, you feel like some kind of leper. So it remains to hope only for God or for the mercy of caring people, who are now very, very few.

In general people have become very angry and hateful towards each other. Despite all this, despite all the disappointments, we have to straighten our shoulders and move on.

The war has greatly changed our life, dividing everything into “before” and “after”. The most important thing is to endure this blow and not to break down and remain human.