January was unbearably hard. Shelling. Tempreture - 20C. No heating, no electricity, no water. Schools on forced break — and all of this layered on top of very ordinary adult responsibilities: working, cooking, holding things together, supporting others.

And then today I came across a compilation of videos by the Ukrainian media outlet Sho Tam (What’s Up?) about how Ukrainians endured this winter.

And it was… astonishing.

This is what we did:

We let stray animals onto public transport so they could warm up.

We built ice houses with our children.

We danced on the frozen Kyiv Sea.

We created winter shelters for swans.

We wrapped rescuers’ legs to keep them warm as they helped people in subzero temperatures after shelling.

We watched children rejoice in winter — despite everything.

We thanked electricians who came to Kyiv from all over the country to restore power after attacks.

We laughed at improvised costume shows.

We admired figure skaters on that same frozen Kyiv Sea.

It was a month of trials. And we made it through.

Just look at this!