Little Beginnings

Firstly, I want to say thankyou to those who contacted me about my last post. The aftermath of the fires have left alot of people raw but there are the little things that make you smile. A family found their pet peacock after it was featured on the news. Devestating footage of a man walking through his yard, filming the carnage only to turn the camera between two water tanks, their taps on full, and his wife and two children sheltering from the fire. All were safe, their house was gone but they were safe.

Together, the country has pledged $100 million to fire relief. It is overwhelming.

***

We started to clear out the shop after a massive sale on the weekend. My husband has come to the realisation that working from home means working with ME! I think he had to go have a rest to get over the shock. Our first conversation went something like this-

C- Why is it you never listen to any of my suggestions?

T- I do...

C- Then why aren't you seperating the glass and china into seperate boxes like I suggested?

T- You didn't suggest that...

C- (sigh)

I heart him, I really do!

A Year of Endings

My throat is raw, my eyes are dry, everything aches...and I am not one of those who have suffered in the worst fires in Australia's history.


Over 180 people are dead, entire towns destroyed. The loss of property, life and love is an enormous burden. Words fail me.

180+ people are dead. Entire families are gone. Now stop and think about that for a second. Words on a page cannot express the horror of those two sentences. Look at your family, look at your loved ones, at your friends and imagine that in less than 5 minutes they are gone. Imagine that they are not simply gone but die amongst immense heat and fire. It is too tragic to comprehend.

My heart bleeds for the families left to mourn. My heart bleeds for the Triple 0 operators who had to listen to people begging for help as they were dying. My heart bleeds for the people who said that the night after the fire, all they could hear were the native animals screaming in pain. It conjures images I don't want to face. And yet, this is my country and I will face it.

Nothing will stop this fire except for rain. It burns on, threatening to converge into a massive fire storm again. And yet, left behind, there is a different shower for the victims. An outpouring of love, compassion and empathy has rained down on the survivors. We are Australian, this is what we do...and I am bloody proud. To date, the country has rallied and raised over $40 million dollars. Trucks full of clothes, food, toiletries, shoes, toys and general household goods have been donated.

From the bottom of my heart, I want to say thankyou. Thankyou to the little girl who donated $55 out of her moneybox and from her Confirmation money. Thankyou to the woman who donated $20 000 from money left to her by a relative. Thankyou....

***

And our own personal "little death". After five years of fun, laughter, giddy highs and devastating lows our family business is closing down. I thought we had it made. I thought we had passed that magic milestone and it was hard work but not hard slog from hereon in. I was wrong. The economy crashed and took our business with it. We will be trading but from home. Ebay will become a family friend.

I'm sad, very sad. I just haven't shared it yet.

Cin