Tragedy in Australia

Of all the natural disasters, I think fire is the one that terrifies me the most. I get scared when I hear that a hurricane may be heading our way here in Florida, but I know that the reaction I have to that is completely different than the one I would have if it was a fire instead.

I have been following the stories and watching the images coming to us from Victoria, Australia. The death toll keeps rising and I can't stop my tears from falling.

As far as I know, I do not have any family or friends that are caught in this terrible tragedy.
But, watching people grieving, even though they are strangers, is still a heart-wrenching thing.
People have lost their lively hood, their homes and many have lost their families.

A few years ago our house was flooded by a burst washing machine hose. We had just put in hardwood floors, so most of our books, photo albums, etc., were in boxes sitting in the garage. The water went into the garage as well as through every room in our house. The boxes sucked up the water and even though I sat up most of the night removing photos from the albums, we lost a good hunk of our memories. I was fives months pregnant at the time and was extremely emotional about the "stuff" we lost. Just a few months later our little girl was stillborn, and through my grief I realized that the "stuff" I had thought was so important, was not. That is why I would leave at the mere hint of a fire coming my way.

Unfortunately, many of people caught up in this horrific fire, had no warning.

I watched a video made by one of the Australian news channels. It included the noise of the fire coming. It was a dreadful, sickening sound.

My thoughts and prayers have definitely with the people of Victoria, Australia the past few days. They will remain in my thoughts and prayers for a very long time.

One thing I know about Australians, is their fighting spirit. Even with a grief and the loss that is so great, they will rise above it.

Sally-Ann