"We fell on the floor, and Son started praying Pater Noster"

Tetiana Demeshko, 53 years old:  

We had a very large family – an older daughter, a husband, a mother, and a father. The older daughter, Natashenka, fell ill at the age of 16. She had liver cancer. My husband and I treated her for five years. She had an operation, but we lost her at the age of 21. It was the biggest grief in our family. I couldn't live with it. Then God gave us another baby, Bohdanchyk, two years later.

We already had a daughter when Bohdanchyk was born. I live for this baby now. Daughter is a grown-up now. She is married. Then my husband died. Bohdan was three years old when Husband died of cancer. He was a good husband, a good father. He was 50 years old.

For me, Bohdan is the meaning of life now. Lenochka is an adult. She has her own family. So he is all I have left now. Mum died two years ago. She also had cancer. What a tragedy! It was a very large family, we had seven people, we were left alone. And then the war broke out.

When Mummy was still alive, we left the house and went to the city. We stayed at my friends'. We're home now. It got a bit quieter now. However, you never get used to it. We live at home. Your home is your home.

Bohdan Demeshko, 10 years old:

I remember the firing. The ceiling was shaking, and so was the chandelier. I'm scared when they shoot. Especially when I am at home. It's very scary. I always get close to my mother when I'm scared.

Tetiana Demeshko:

I have to take care of everything: household, house, everything. I have no men here. The child, of course, helps me a lot. We have chickens and rabbits. He gives them food and mows grass. We try to maintain cleanliness and order. My son is a great boy, and I love him very much. This is my meaning of life. He is obedient and helpful.

He sometimes gets upset. He says, "Mum, other children's dads come to school and take them. But I don't have a dad." Of course, all children want to have a father and a mother. But I try to replace both my father and mother. I do.

Bohdan: 

She is the best mother in the world. She is so talented. He knows everything and teaches me how to make pancakes. I already know how to make them. She taught me a lot. I take care of the farmstead. I have a good mother.

Tetiana Demeshko:

It will all end one day. And we'll live happily ever after. My son promised that he would stay with his mother. Daughter got married and left. She and her husband live in Zhytomyr. They got married not so long time ago. And my son promised to stay with me. He is a great support to me.Bohdan:

Bohdan:

Peace is when they don't shoot, when everything is fine.