Sadness

It's with a heavy heart I sit down to write this morning. How could it be anything else?

You turn on the news and see the horrific, terrifying images coming out of Toowoomba. An 'inland tsunami' it's being called. A sudden and deadly deluge. Large torrents of water engulfing the city. Cars swept away with helpless people at the wheel. People stranded on rooves, the tops of trees, telegraph poles – still waiting to be rescued. The news that bodies have been found and many more people are missing, children included.

Of course, Toowoomba isn't the only town suffering. The flooding in Queensland is widespread and expected to effect Brisbane today. It seems almost cruel to see an area that was in the grip of such severe drought not so long ago now drowning.

To all those in affected areas, please stay safe and know our thoughts are with you.

In my own selfish moment, it's likely we'll have to wave Skip off on a plane this week to head to flood affected areas.


My heart has also been greatly saddened by the news of the loss of Lori's husband Tony. I wrote about Lori last week, saying Tony was fighting for his life. Unfortunately, he lost that fight and passed peacefully yesterday, leaving Lori and their two children aged just 3 and 1. I can only imagine the hole that Lori feels in her heart right now.

Lori is one of the few bloggers I have met in person. We met at a cafe last year with a few others at a bloggers' meet up. I was surprised and delighted when Lori gave me the warmest smile and said: "I love reading your blog! It's great." Over the next hour or so, her bright smile and kind energy lit up the table.
Since then we've bantered on Twitter and she's always left the kindest most supportive comments on my blog.

I've been in awe of the outpouring of support for Lori in the blogosphere. I truly hope that it helps her get through this very dark time.

Lori, from my family to yours, we offer our most sincere condolences. Sending you much love. x


You can donate to help Lori and her two bubs. With Tony being the breadwinner, Lori faces not only great emotional struggle in the coming months, but the fact that she must now support her young family on her own. The blogging community has banded together to help raise funds to help ease the pressure on Lori at this awful time.