afterafteraftershocks

So, we've had a day of larger than normal earthquakes. (One of them was a 6.0, which is the third biggest yet.) We didn't lose power or water, so very thankful for that. And no one has been seriously hurt - thank God!

On the other hand:

(a) Over 50,000 homes DON'T have power. It is getting down to freezing every night at the moment so please pray that Christchurch families can find ways to keep warm tonight.

(b) More damage. Dang and blast. There was red tape around a lot of these buildings, so luckily they fell without hurting anyone. But a friend of mine, as an example, whose house made it through both the September and February quakes by the skin of its teeth, has now lost her home. It's twisted off its foundation. My sister and brother-in-law had repairs on their house finished last week, and will have to start from the beginning again. It really sucks.

(c) We have to start boiling water again which is just a huge pain.

(d) This is all really tiring. And emotionally draining. The quakes today weren't HUGE, but they were very violent and rather scary. The dominant emotion I have seen expressed today is this: I AM OVER IT. Is this going to continue - every three or four months, just when we're starting to feel like things might be getting more normal again?

On the plus side, again, no one is dead. But on the minus side, this makes it psychologically okay to complain about things like dangerous water or unsettling aftershocks.

*pulling myself together*

I'm fine. There is a chocolate pudding in the oven and the fire is on. I don't feel bleak, like I did after the February earthquake. I was at home when it happened so I didn't have to go through the whole evacuation saga again. There are many things in the world that I DON'T have to put up with. Consider my blessings counted!

Edit: The biggest quake on Monday, it turns out, was actually a 6.3 on the Richter scale - exactly the same size as the February earthquake. Photos here.