From: Ira Kapitonova in Kyiv (Day 1241)
By this I know that you delight in me:
my enemy will not shout in triumph over me.
Psalm 41:11
I know that we have been traumatized by this war. I mean, our thoughts and reactions might seem weird to most people, but it’s not something debilitating.
Someone shared a list of things Ukrainians do before going to bed, and it was so accurate to my thinking process lately that I decided to share more.
When leaving on our vacation, I tried to leave our apartment in some sort of order so that, in case our apartment building is damaged during a drone or missile strike, it would look presentable to the rescuers.
I was folding laundry the other day, and there was an ongoing debate in my head the whole time — is folding and putting away clean clothes a wise choice because it would make the clothes less dusty in case of explosions nearby, or would we need to rewash all the clothes anyway, so why bother?
When unloading the dishwasher, I paused for a second with one of the bowls in my hands. Should I keep it on the counter, or is it better to put it away in the cupboard, where it should be safer?
And the list goes on and on. Every time I leave my apartment or park my car, I am very well aware that they may be gone by the next time I’m there. It does help you not to get too attached to material things, but it doesn’t really help your anxiety.
Going to bed in our hallway, I have a set of basic necessities by my side. We generally try to keep important things in the hallway, but I usually bring my laptop with me, not because I’m worried about it, but because it can help me keep my mind occupied if the night is especially loud and I cannot sleep.
Most of Ukraine is under a drone attack right now. Missiles will likely come later at night since the enemy’s strategic aviation seems active.
We had our bedtime snack in the hallway, and my 11-year-old son, who loves witty play on words, said that birdwatching is a popular activity for many countries (he himself enjoys it), but we have a different hobby in Ukraine — missilewatching. He proceeded to explain that we also have maps and predictions on where and when a missile may be spotted, but it’s sad that missiles act insane all the time, not only during their mating periods.
To some people, this story of life may sound too disturbing or traumatizing, but let me assure you that it only emphasizes that there is so much LIFE in every moment in between the attacks that I wouldn’t want to trade it for anything.
Voice of Ukraine 