Nine years on

Our suburb (Mount Pleasant) still marks the anniversary of the devastating Christchurch earthquake by putting flowers in road cones.  As I drove across town yesterday, I saw that this isn't the case across the whole city.  Maybe because WE still have road cones.

Whatever, it lifts my spirits to see them, and I add a few flowers of my own. I remember the amazing way our city pulled together to deal with this disaster, as well as the sad loss of friends and the infrastructure of our city.    

Unbelievably, it will be ten years next February 22 since our lives were changed so drastically.  I don't need the big ceremonies and significant memorials.  A small gesture, the flowers in these cones, makes me think of all the other people who added a flower, and a strong feeling of community seeps into my soul.  I  belong to this city now more than ever before.