A year on...

So it's been just over a year since the earth below our city roared into life.

7500 aftershocks and still counting, crazy.

Things are slowly normalizing - the sewers are fixed and the portaloo has disappeared from outside our house, the kids haven't had any 'earthquake days' off school this term and some of the families we knew who left after February have started to move back to Christchurch.

And the shopping malls on this side of town are opening again!  

Now I'm no mallrat - I don't particularly like malls, in fact I would lean towards being socio-ethically (I just made that word up) against them but they are so damn convenient.....with little kids....in the wintry rain...with a list of jobs to get done....parent's room and toilets close at hand....you get the picture.

Our roads are still crappy though - holes and raised manhole covers everywhere - you can tell the cars who live down our street by the way they swerve through the least bumpy path on the road like it's 2nd nature.

In general I don't feel anxious about the earthquakes anymore - which surprises me really, given my history of anxiety and depression.  I know some people who can't go into shops still or who can't leave home on Tuesdays because that's when the big one happened.  

I still have moments when I am terrified that we are about to have another big one and I run through the scenario in my head on how I would get my family all safe, back together.  And then there are the times when Erin is playing nicely on the floor and I suddenly have to scoop her up and hold her tight because I have just noticed all the things that could fall down and hurt her.

But generally these things are happening less and less.  

Everyone is more settled and hope is sneaking it's way in.

The water still tastes like a swimming pool though! 

Zoe's first date

Last night Zoe went on her first date.

With her Dad.

We decided it was time for her to go on her first date when I overheard her and Kasey* talking about boys late last year (and yes she is only six). Actually it was Kasey telling Zoe which boys liked her.   I talked to Zoe about it later and she said lots of girls in her class have boyfriends.

Me: What does it mean if you have a boyfriend?

Zoe: You go out and hold hands and stuff

Me: Do the girls in your class do that with their boyfriends?

Zoe: They hold hands at lunchtime sometimes. Lana* says that her and David* go to the cafe      together but she's lying because they are only six.

Me: Do any of them kiss?

Zoe: The big kids do at school

Me: In the playground?

Zoe: No they go to the wheelchair toilet because there are no kids in wheelchairs at our school.

How romantic!

Me: Do you have a boyfriend?

Zoe: Matthew* likes me but I don't want a boyfriend

Me: Why not?

Zoe: Because I'm only five and it's silly to have boyfriends when your five.

Me: Zoe Jane - you are a very smart girl.  

So we decided that Dad would take her on a date.  Having boyfriends is mostly about feeling special and loved and her Dad should be taking the lead role there anyway.

It reminded me of a  conversation between Dad and Zoe one night (she was 4) when he was putting her to bed......
Zoe: I'm getting big now
Dad: You certainly are
Zoe: When I get bigger and have a boyfriend then I need to have another bed for my boyfriend because he will need his own bed.

Damn right he will!!!

Artistic Flair

I refuse to have my kids enrolled in every after school activity under the sun so the plan is that they get to choose one thing to try at a time - so far we've done ballet and gymnastics.

Zoe wants to do art classes this year - luckily I have found an inexpensive laid back gallery in Brighton that runs classes for kids.  She has always been good at art - here is her artistic version of her name at age 3.

The problem is she likes to draw/write on everything...

In the first week of school she snuck out of the classroom with some crayons and decorated the bathroom.

Then there was the time that we thought the children were all tucked in and peacefully sleeping....until we heard the giggling...

Just you try telling that off!

Coping with the wobbles.

I have been amazed at how the kids responded to the big quake and all it's aftershocks - doing much better than their Mum!  
Zoe did lots of 'art therapy' for ages everything she drew had wobbly lines in it.  This picture is what she drew the day after the big shake - it's us waiting under the table while Dad is outside listening to the car radio.

Erin didn't notice much but she did have her naps under the table for a few weeks...

Hamish wore his hard hat and superhero cape for weeks - he was ready for the next one!  
One day they had an aftershock when he was at kohanga.  When I picked him up I asked him,
"What did you do in the earthquake today?" 
He looked at me a little confused then replied,
"I made the wobbling stop."
Of course - what else would you do!

Crisis of faith

One night after a struggle to get through the bedtime routine...one frazzled mum and one grumpy Zoe....attemping to get through the prayers quickly I start off for Zoe…
“Thankyou God for today...”
“No! No- mummy! I don’t like that God anymore!”
“Well Zoe I think you’ll find that Christianity is a monotheistic religion...if you would like more choice than that perhaps you should consider becoming a Hindu....” (4 Oct 2007)