You know what bothers me??

like, really really bugs me... when people make a big deal about the floods and basically brag about the floods because there was a little tiny bit of water over somewhere so they couldn't go and get an icecream.

THERE ARE PEOPLE DYING.

That doesn't bug me as much as people not caring at all.

I had this realisation yesterday.
My mum woke me up early in the morning and told me to get all my most valuable posessions up high, and i had to look after Amity and a little girl across the road as every one was sand bagging, putting all our furniture on crates, and just helping every one out. I live on Dale street, and it tends to flood. The little girl was brought to me because her my mum crying out for help in the house across the road because her house was going under. It turns out the little girl goes to Mueller. Any way, before that, i went to work... but my mum ended up coming and getting me cause our road was flooding. And lucky she did, the waters were higher then i have ever seen them before... and last time i saw them... i'd said the same thing.

Adams parents came around to help us pack stuff up, and they ended up helping other people too. Heaps of people parked their cars out the front of our house cause the flood waters never reached as far as our house... but they ended up being swamped.

I remember yesterday feeling exhausted. as soon as i was alone i went into my bedroom and just lay on the floor. and i was annoyed. annoyed that i didn't have any electricity. annoyed that all my favourite stuff was in the car. annoyed that i didn't have anywhere to sit. annoyed that i had to sleep on a mattress at night. And annoyed that... (this is extremely shameful to me) that all our effort turned out to be for nothing, and we'd have to unpack everything today. Just annoyed, and exhausted and frustrated.

Then i walked outside, waded through my front yard and climbed my favourite tree, and watched my street. It was like a river, and i watched the SES boat go up and down resuceing people and their dogs, i watched Mums carrying children and bags on their backs wading through water, and i felt guilty.

How dare i be ungrateful? How dare i?! there are people dying!

Yesterday i heard Adams mum praying that the rain would stop, and soon after it did.

But i never thanked God for that... i just thought about all the effort.

Today, i watched a man talking about his experience with saving a young boy.
His Mum and brother were in a car and they had just come back from picking up the boy'school uniform. When a freakish wall of water came for them. They were trapped in the car, and this man saw them, called for a rope and came out to rescue him. He went to get the oldest boy (12-years-old) but the boy said "No, save my little brother first! save him first!" so he got the boy out. But when he went back for the others, the water was too heavy, and it swept him off his feet. He tried, but he couldn't, and the other helpers couldn't either. Apparently the boy was just screaming "Save my mum, please just save my mum!" before their tipped over and was swept away with the current.

The is true selfless ness. Man, when i heard that on the news... i bawled my eyes out. For ages. I guess i just realised thati shouldn't look on the dark side, God protected us! He protected us in an amazing way. Just a few centimetres and the waters would've started to seep in.

So, thank you God.

and oh yer, another thing thats buggin, is people paying out on Anna Bligh and the Jay-Gillanator. Seriously... they are doing the best they can... and they care. How often do you see leaders getting teary over their state?
Just in general... save the complaining for people who really need it.

For whatever its worth, here are some pictures of my street in the early stages of the flood.