Well, we managed to hold our first meeting of Postcards to the Front ambassadors, and everyone was on time. Digitally.

It’s 7am in Canada, 9pm in Australia and 2pm in Ukraine.

Tamara laughs as we start: “Helen is very early and Peter is very late, but I have the perfect time!”

Irony drips from a war-hardened young woman, so petite that her cat looks like a tiger.

“This is Mr. Cat,” she shows us on screen, then laughs, “he makes me look so small.”

We got to know each other a bit, face-to-face, while Mr. Cat snoozed on the couch. Peter had some technical difficulties, “but,” laughed Tamara, “at least no bombs dropping from the sky.”

My Ukrainian-speaking husband joined us, and soon enough we are tackling challenges, and sharing tips about stamps and cards and ways to mobilize writers.

Tamara shows us a big box of cards that she just got in for the project. All featuring Ukrainian artists.

“You want some? Let me know. I’ll send you some.”

I feel embarrassed that she would go to the trouble and expense. The least we can do, I think to myself, is provide our own postcards.

Tamara reminded us to ensure that the writing is legible. Printed clearly. After all, she says, “Ukrainians know English, but they have difficulty with the cursive [writing].”

Changing course, Tamara shares her excitement, that “now we are getting requests from the front for postcards. They want more! Everyone wants them! So we need them to come from you. From all over the world. When you are writing [to us], we know that you are with us.”

Our task is simple.

More postcards to cheer up Ukraine’s front line defenders. They really do appreciate them.

More than an hour has passed, when Tamara announces, “Well, we should go now. I want to check in with my mother.”

Sunday is Mother’s Day. I wonder about Tamara’s mother. How much does she worry that her young daughter has stayed in Ukraine so she can organize messages of support for front line defenders?

And I imagine how proud she must be of her daughter! Brave. Creative. Smart. Funny. Generous. Dedicated.