Moving on - with Daisies

I went up to my house today, to water the garden. It’s all a sad and sorry sight and it looks derelict. I came away feeling despairing. It’s 4 years now since the first earthquake hit Christchurch and it’s all but 4 years since my house was so badly damaged in the February 22 2011 quakes. The hope and optimism I felt when I first experienced all the damage has been replaced by a sense of cheerlessness, gloom and despondency, a resignation that it’s all out of my hands and totally dependant on the goodwill of others. I only got back from Great Barrier Island last night, so this sense of despair is what I always have to work through when I come back - but it doesn’t get any easier.


These Daisies are ongoing hope though. I grew them from a little slip that I took from plants growing on a vacant lot in the CBD, a year ago. I think I blipped them growing there. If they can be visible fruit of the life of a broken city, growing in the garden of a broken  house, then there really is hope that I can hang on to! 


My daughter-in-law shared this quote with me a couple of days ago - You can be right, or You can be happy. 
If I dwell on the ‘wrongs’ of what has and hasn’t been done for me, with my house, I’ll be dwelling on the ‘rights’ of it all. I think I’m better to concentrate on the life I can see in these beautiful Daisies - I’m choosing to move on with them, get my peace back again and be happy!!

Thanks so much everyone for the wonderful response to yesterday's Memory Park by Starlight! It blew me away that so many of you liked it so much!! I'm sorry that I can't respond to you all personally at present. Hopefully I'll get to some wifi tomorrow and rectify that. I so love and appreciate the wonderful feedback and support that typifies this Blipfoto community.