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Thursday, January 20, 2011

Happy 30th to Me!


One week ago I turned 30.. but in the madness of the week that was (and wasn't) we have stretched my birthday out over the entire week and celebrated in dribs and drabs. How special, having a birthday week, instead of just one day!

I awoke on my birthday to the phone ringing at 7:15am, it was my Mum wishing me a happy birthday - she is an early riser!   It was a lovely phone call, but it was also lovely to get Birthday hugs from my Son and sleep in a little longer!   The 2nd time when I got up was at a more civilised hour  at my Aunties place, as we were staying there in case our home was affected by the flood to lots of cuddles and birthday wishes from my Nan, Aunty, Pop, Kids and cousins (which was lovely..)

I had a slow morning followed by a walk in the fresh air (cabin fever!) and a lovely BBQ lunch with my Nan, Pop, Aunty and Uncle. In the afternoon we came back home to a dry house (best present ever) and unpacked the house and settled back in.. As we had little food in the house we had McDonald's for dinner (thankfully before their limited menu kicked in..) and we all had an early night in the name of exhaustion and being in our own beds..

Yesterday my dear friend Kym popped over for a visit and spoilt me with a lovely pressie and cake, which we had last night, it was so gorgeous and yummy!

And today (or tomorrow..) whenever I go to bed and wake up again.. we will be doing a final birthday rerun, card - present and all.. the day we planned last Thursday, if not for the flood..

Then my birthday will be done and dusted for another year.. and what a year I hope it to be!

So much water, so much sadness.. so much community spirit.. xo


What a horrible, horrible week..  Last Monday I was oblivious to the week that lay ahead. And when I snapped a picture of the rain last weekend, I never imagined that a few short days later there would be a lot more water than anyone could have prepared for.  After watching the horror unfold in Toowoomba and its surrounding areas on Monday, we woke on Tuesday to find ourselves packing up and evacuating our home.  We were fortunate to have a place to store our belongings and a place to go, unlike many.  So we headed to my Aunty's place, kids - pets and all (thanks Aunty Storm xo) and waited and watched and waited and watched (the news, facebook and the BOM) until the river peaked and the next morning, Damian was able to head home to check how the house had fared. Amazingly, we were dry! I have no idea how, when our home was under in 1974, but by some miracle, there was only a few inches up the back fence.. Unfortunately others weren't so lucky and many faced the full devastation and the force of the floods.  Unpacking my belongings again seemed so trivial compared to what they were facing at the same time..

It has been lovely to see the community spirit in both the lead up and aftermath of the flood.. The amount of people concerned initially for other's safety, assisting in evacuating, offering places to stay, lending an ear and now afterwards cleaning up, lending a hand, offering support and assisting in any way they can, has been heartwarming to both see and hear.  Shows us that community spirit is still alive and well in our busy, modern society and if nothing else, this has served as a reminder of what the human spirit is capable of. 

As my Aunty put it, one feels rather guilty coming home to a hot shower, washing machine and a clean pair of clothes.. I am hopeful that in the weeks and months to come, everyone will have those little luxuries again and that we are all able to band together to ensure this happens as quickly as possible for everyone affected.