My cup of tea: All washed up

I think everyone in Brisbane must be feeling like me: all washed up; wrung out and hung out - to dry. We have all discovered a lot about ourselves and about our community and city these last few days. Here are a few observations from my very fortunate perspective.

Ten bad things (not in any particular order):

terrible mayhem, tragic scenes, and sad stories;
livelihoods more than disrupted, but entirely obliterated - heartbreaking;
the rotten, all pervading, odour of decomposing vegetation and slime;
traffic jams to beat all traffic jams - I sat and watched the queues from my front deck - go home!
rubber neckers - get out of your cars and help why don’t you?
overwhelming tiredness from the upheaval and emotion;
a week of truly awful food, very little fresh vegetables, lots of comfort eating;
people in an undignified race to the milk section of the supermarket with avarice writ large across their faces;
the constant, relentless, unceasing, persistent news about Brisbane. I’d still like to know how the rest of the world is travelling please;
scared, terrified faces.

And ten good things:

no power, so family time by candlelight - we should play fiendish Sudoku more often!
solidarity;
ABC local radio;
looking like a mess and not caring - I am helping clean up here!
neighbours and communities coming together;
eating chocolate without feeling (too) guilty (that is all that was in the pantry - oh, you don’t believe me?);
the rise and rise of volunteerism (long may it last);
Anna Bligh and Campbell Newman (they are both public servants so I’ve lumped them together!);
the decline in materialism - “it is only stuff after all”;
taking time out from the clean up to go to the cinema with my daughter, just me and her!