A Thankfulness Post - The Things That Keep Me Going

As previously written, there have been some dark days here of late, I am so over the pain my body suffers, I am over looking in the mirror and seeing my aging face looking tired and drawn with no energy. To be honest there are days when it all seems to much ... knowing that this is the beginning of this journey, I am no where near the end ... and the endless years stretch before me ... years and years of just this. My new meds are making no difference, their side effects more often than not ravage me ... I know the saying no pain, no gain, but too be truthful ... there is no gain here at all, zero.

Today is actually a good day, so I thought it might be good to write a thankfulness post, a way of keeping my glass half full.

So here are some of the things that keep me going ...

the love of my hubby, his caring, warmth and love surround me ... the soft and gentle kisses he gives me during the day, the way he rubs my back, the things he does every single day that keep me free of pain ... the housework, the cooking, so much each and every day

the love and laughter of my grand-daughters and the many, many photos of them I have that I can look at when ever my heart pleases, which is does often. They have no expectations of me, they love me just for who I am

the love of my children, my pride in how they are living their lives, the strength I see in them and knowing that I have had something to do with that

the warmth of Max, cuddling against my feet as I blog, he follows me from room to room, snuggling with me every chance he gets

these lovely autumn days, allowing me to lay on my bed in the afternoon (on the days I am not working), with the blinds open and the sun warming me softly while reading a book or taking a nap.

unexpected things, like a workmate acquaintance who looked at me the other day and really saw me, and told me he just wanted to give me a hug, and so I let him. He does not work closely with me, but he could see the pain and the tired eyes, and he reached out ... what a wonderful person

the support of the blogging community, all the lovely people who take the time to visit and comment that let me know I am connecting in some way to people. Who would have thought that all my regular visitors would mean so much to me, most of you I have not met In Real Life, but nevertheless, we all reach out to each other when something we blog touches a cord in our hearts.

So, I give thanks for all of the above and for the good days, maybe just maybe they will start outnumbering the bad ones and the smile will come back into my eyes and my heart.

The Good News and The Bad News

The good news arrived today that my friend John and his family are okay. They survived Cyclone Yasi with no injuries to themselves, little structural damage to their house, just the rainforest their house sits in is shredded - John says it is like a logging coupe - there is nothing left of any height at all. Given that the eye of the cyclone passed right over them, they are so lucky. I am so relieved.

The bad news - is that friends of mine, friends of my children, even teachers from when they were at high school, have lost everything in the fires that raged here yesterday afternoon. It came from nowhere, fuelled by our dry bush and the howling easterly wind.

The toll just heard on the radio was 59 houses totally destroyed and another 28 with significant damage. Most people just got out with their lives (and some with their pets). Most did not have time to save much else. The fire is still not totally contained although less dangerous than before.

The first sign of trouble, pic taken by my daughter who lives 2 blocks from us.

Yesterday our house, our whole suburb was encased in smoke, with the noise of helitankers flying overhead to refill at the lake virtually next to our house. Hour upon hour these pilots worked, flying so low - over houses and past power lines. Hour upon hour our fire brigades, regular and volunteers, the staff of the department I work in (Environment and Conservation) stood face to face with the flames and the heat and the smoke. They are still there moping up hots spots.

So much lost, the only good news ... no one lost their lives or were seriously injured (possibly some pets died which is a shame). For some people the fire was upon them with no warning - they fled. For hundreds of others the forward warning SMS system moved out of their homes to safety. What could have been just like the Black Saturday of Victoria just 2 years ago with so many lives lost was avoided. It certainly was Black Sunday for many, but thankfully they have their lives.

No News - Hope It Means Good News

My friend John and his family live at Bingil Bay, near Mission Beach in Queensland. They were building a house, while living in it as well. They were right in the path of Cyclone Yasi and I have not heard a word from them. I have left text messages, voice messages and emailed them. I assume they are without power or mobile phone coverage. I just hope they are okay. Their children are just 3 and 4 1/2.

Every time the phone rings, or I get a text message, or I download my emails - I hope it is John letting me know they are fine. I watch the emails download and think this time it will be from him but so far there is just silence.

I console myself thinking that if they had lost everything they would have driven somewhere else and then they would be in phone range. So not hearing means they are still there, still okay, but just with no power and no phone coverage.

Their heart and soul has gone into slowly building this place - John talks with pride about how much they have done and how little was left to do. He keeps asking us to fly up from Perth to visit. I just hope he and Carole have not lost it all, that they are all safe and well and still have a home to live in.

The old adage No News Is Good News - I hope that is true in this case, but I worry more each day.