Kids and Quake Brain

We have had many aftershocks since I arrived in Christchurch. The first one, in the dead of night, had me out of bed and groveling in the dark to open my bedroom door. While I struggled to get back to sleep I kept telling myself “I must be brave for Annie and Joe’s sake.” I knew I had felt this sense of foreboding before and I traced it back to being stuck at Steep Point for 10 days, aboard our yacht Roma II, while waiting for the gale to abate so we could make safe passage to Geraldton.

By sun up, on my first day, I was ready to do what I had come for - take care of the children so my sister Annie and Joe could catch their breath. My niece, Molly, is 12 years old and Sammy is 9. Kids’ cooking was high on their agenda, so we made a shopping list and headed to the supermarket. While Sammy and I were wandering around the isles he looked up at me with his big brown eyes and said “hey Aunty Janie, people might think you are my mum.”

When we arrived home, we made chocolate “bugs” and gave them eyes and ears and ate them sparingly! Then we all lay down to rest, the kids were more exhausted than me!

I have learnt a new term since arriving in Christchurch - “quake brain” - hope I don’t catch it too. Although we are still pooping into plastic bags, the aftershocks are much less now but I still sleep with my bedroom door open!