One year on...

This is a photo of the children at St Michael's School letting off helium balloons (with prayers attached to them) after the 2 minutes of silence. Sebastien is the boy with his back to the photo, and Lucy's shoes are the in picture, she is standing behind Taylor and George (just to the right of Sebastien). Lucy said "I held it up really high, just the tip of it and then I let go! and the balloon flew, and it came by our house. I felt relaxed because I knew we weren't going to have another earthquake."
Actually in the car this morning she told me she was scared and didn't want to be left at school because she didn't want to have another quake. She thought that all the fuss about today was because there was going to be another big one... my poor baby.
At my school we had 2 minutes silence at the bottom of our flagpole, and then the students planted an oak tree in rememberance of all that we are blessed with. It was a touching moment but I will admit that I shed a tear this morning in the car after I had taken the children to school. We drove past the TV cameras setting up, the Provincial Chambers in rubble, Armagh St totally blocked off with rubble and machinary but displaying a sign "Street Closed", and of course past all the empty sections. We live with it every day and I am not bothered, but somehow today I remembered the shock and worry, and the annoyance of having 6 months with no toilet. I also felt the panic of not knowing if my children were okay, and the sorrow of knowing Megane saw the buildings fall on people/Sebastien was trapped in the music room "tuning ukaleles"/Lucy was in the school grounds listening to the screams and collapsing buildings not knowing if she should stay still, go in the building (like the teachers were telling her to do) or look for her siblings. I also remember the fear of waiting with fellow teachers as they tried in vain to contact their children who were in town, and then of course the weeks of worry as Dad worked around the clock with his colleagues from around the world to rescue and help the afflicted.
I'll be happy when today is over, but I am very aware that 22 Feb 2011 could be repeated, tomorrow. Or next week. Or next month. And of course nothing is finished. We are still living in a house that we have been told is "unrepairable", everyone we know is mourning something, our churches are condemned (ha ha, that's ironic, i get it, but they really are), our shopping malls are still closed and our water is rationed.
However on the bright side, my family is all alive.
xxx