"Don't Get Used to Our Grief"

If you haven't had time to watch the news and listen to several excellent interviews with President Zelenskyy this past week, I've curated some of the best for you.

But first we start with his wife. 

One day this past week I listened to this interview by Christiane Amanpour with Olena Zelenska, in which she talks about not seeing her husband since the war began on February 24. She ended with, "Don't get used to our grief." 

While I obviously cannot speak for everyone, I am fearful that most Americans are getting used to the Ukrainians grief. The people that I am in contact day in and day out say, "Yes, it's horrible, but I just can't look at those pictures" or "I don't want to think about it." Life for most of the world goes on as normal, while nothing is normal anymore. It makes me want to scream!

President Zelenzkyy said at the beginning of this war, "Don't look away" and I have not. I cannot, even though the images I see make me weep.

Later that same day the presidents of Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia visited President Zelenskyy in Kyiv. When President Duda of Poland approached President Zelenskyy he wrapped his arm around him. Tears immediately came to my eyes. Human touch is so important and with his wife and children sequestered for their safety, he's probably not had anyone hug him in over a month. It also signified his support for him. It still touches me every time I look at it.

He and his wife are just a couple of years older than my daughter. I feel very maternal towards them. I often wonder what this is like for his parents, to see their son under so much stress. I pray his parents are safe as well.

This interview is from a month ago. What he said needs to be heard again and again by the leaders who still need to help OR do more. Please listen carefully:

He's spoken often this week I know I'm missing some, but these stood out to me:

I couldn't sleep that night, so I created a a graphic from what he said they needed and shared it on all my social media channels.

From the BBC:

And finally, he talks about his children and how he wants to be remembered in an excellent interview with Jake Tapper on CNN:

I pray they will have many more years with him.