We remember...

It is hard to believe that a whole year ago our world was shaken and turned upside down.  Today was the anniversary of the devastating February 22 earthquakes in Christchurch which took almost 200 lives.

As I drove to school (and driving home) it was lovely to see the ever present orange cones decorated with flowers.  What a superb idea which not only helps us to remember and reflect on the events of last year, but also helps to beautify the city.

At school we have orange cones along our driveway, so those were decorated also.

Tonight, Malcolm and I are going to watch the movie "When a City Falls" on tv.  Both of us were reluctant to go to the theatre earlier in the year to watch this movie because we don't feel comfortable being in a theatre since the earthquakes.  Not sure that I will enjoy it, but it will definitely be worth watching.

At school my classroom and I discussed why today was a special day "today is the birthday of the earthquakes which gave us a big fright last year", and we talked about where we were.  Some children could remember being on the monkey bars, the flying fox, and some others could remember being in the lunch area still.  We talked about how scared we felt, and we also talked about how safe we felt at school knowing there were lots of people who care for us there.

Some of the children joined me under the big oak tree to observe a 2 minute silence, a chat, and some reassurance.

Kia Kaha Christchurch