Author's Story

Hello! My name is Natalia and I am a master of knitted toys for babies. And I am also a wife and mother. We are an ordinary family living in the extremely beautiful city of Odesa. And we had a wonderful life that has changed forever on February 24th. Never in my life could I have imagined that one day I would wake up from explosions, that it would be so terrible that it would be difficult to breathe, that there would be a war in our country. Just yesterday I met with my friends, and today they left forever, scattered to different countries, saving themselves and their children.

My family and I decided to stay, but we were ready to get everything we needed into the car and go. Thinking about it brings me to tears and the thought does not leave me: is this really happening, how is this possible, that someone has the right to come to someone else's land to destroy and kill!!!

Because of everything that was happening, I couldn't do anything at all for a long time, all the time I endlessly scrolled through the news feed, again, and again, and again, and again ("it's impossible to watch the news, it's impossible not to watch the news"). Between sirens and explosions, all attention was focused on the phone. Later it became clear that continuing like this I can go crazy. Then I decided that it's time to get back to work and create something beautiful, because it will allow me to distract myself from the horror that is happening around me, at least for a while. Moreover, in this way, I was able to help, maybe not as much as I would like, but it is still necessary and important: to send a few toys for children who have left the destroyed cities, to donate to the Armed Forces of Ukraine or to help those who were left without a job.

I believe in our Victory and hope that one day we will return to our normal life, which seemed so ordinary, but now it is clear that it was just wonderful!

Natalia, Odesa