Well, it's Saturday yet again! What a week it's been. Three-quarters of the state of Queensland flooded (that's the size of Germany and France combined for my international readers). Terrifying flash flooding in Toowoomba and Lockyer Valley. Major flooding in Brisbane. Flood waters still high in Rockhampton and central Qld. Some towns flooded for the third time since Christmas. Scarily it's not over yet.
Not to mention flooding in Northern NSW, Victoria and Tasmania. Yep, it's been wet. Two years ago severe drought and fire, now this. Dorothea Mackellar really knew what she was talking about when she wrote:
I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror -
The wide brown land for me!
Mackellar really sums it up. Her beauty and her terror, was never more true this week.
We are having a lot of quiet family time this weekend. Catching up with family returning from overseas. Catching up with family celebrating a birthday. Spending time just the four of us.
This Saturday, I'm grateful for.....
* A warm, dry home. A safe place to sleep, that's free of mud. It's hard to feel anything else with the images that are being beamed into our lounge rooms 24/7 at the moment.
* Time. Uncomplicated, free time to spend with friends and family.
* Good friends. A lovely friend is taking Lil-lil to the movies today. Yesterday, I got to spend time gas-bagging with a good friend while our daughters played happily together. As Lil-lil said: "We'll be friends forever!"
* Australia. It's a tough country that serves up such heartbreak, but we also are so lucky to have communities, government, public services that help us in incredible ways in dire circumstances.
Have a good weekend. x
Play along with Maxabella's I'm grateful for.... here.
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What a great list...this week has made me also very proud and grateful to be an Australian.
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking about Dorothea Mackellar all week too. It is comforting to know that Australia has always been this way. That we are not suddenly being struck down for hooliganism or some such.
ReplyDeleteLovely gratefuls, Corinne. We Aussies go okay! x
I wonder if it's the challenges like the ones thrown down this week that have made us who we are as a nation?
ReplyDeleteResilient, willing to have a go, always ready to lend a mate a hand, all mixed up with a wry sense of humour that sees us putting a positive spin on the most dire of circumstances?
I have a dear friend who has had her home inundated in Brisbane and the photos that she's shared of complete strangers helping to clean out the mud and muck have made me proud to be an Aussie.
Great post.
Felicity x
Dorothea Mackellar's words have also been rattling around my head this week.....thinking of flood victims, and all those affected in all 5 states of Australia with flooding. 5 States!!! It's madness isn't it.
ReplyDeleteI think we are all taking the time to be grateful for the small stuff this week. And yes, Ms Mackellar has been on my mind too.
ReplyDeleteHi Corinne, just awarded you a stylish blogger award at http://thepurplenotepad.blogspot.com/ Pop over and collect it when you can.
ReplyDeleteI came across Dorothea Mackellar's poem in a book on Australian history this week and thought how appropriate it was.