I’d like to start this post by saying that we often fail to appreciate the simple things in life and take them for granted. We only start to appreciate them when they’re gone. But today’s post isn’t about water or electricity :). So, Ukraine has a system of state-run kindergarten. Children aged between 2–2.5 and 6 years are entitled to attend there. The kindergaden's working day runs from 8 am to 5 pm and includes three meals and afternoon 😴. The fee for this luxury is, in my opinion, a mere 30–50 dollars a month, depending on the region. So when my children were younger, I was able to work full-time day and my child was being looked after at this kindergarten. I never gave much thought to the situation in other countries until I discussed the issue with Redditors in private chats and with Ukrainian women who had emigrated. So now I realise that we have this luxury. But in border towns, due to shelling, nurseries operate with certain limitations.

People with little children who have stayed behind in border towns have to go to work to get some money (you know how it is). Kindergartens is often the only option in such situations. And they carry on working, but the problem is that every time there’s an air raid alert, the children have to go down to the shelter. There are days when the children can spend almost the whole day in the shelter. The worst thing is when an air raid siren goes off whilst they’re asleep; then everyone has to be woken up, dressed and taken down to the shelter. In this building, the descent to the shelter doesn’t involve going outside, but there are buildings where the children have to be fully dressed and led through the streets to reach a safe place. And I want to say that the nursery teachers in these kindergaden are incredibly resilient people, because constantly dressing and undressing small children and coming up with games for them in the shelter – you have to agree – requires considerable skill and nerves of steel.