Friday, March 4, 2011

My Christchurch Story

This isn't going to be a particularly 'twenty something' related blog but I just wanted to share this after the past harrowing week....

Last Tuesday Tom and I were looking forward to an extra long weekend in Christchurch. We were all set to fly down on Wednesday morning so we could help with Tom’s sister Sophia’s wedding happening on Friday. Then at 12.51pm the world changed and worrying about whether I’d still fit my bridesmaid dress went out the window only to be replaced by the crippling fear of whether Tom’s family were OK. Thankfully after some frantic dialling and redialling, we found out that we were among the lucky people with loved ones relatively unscathed.

We managed to get a flight down on Wednesday after hours of queuing with our stomachs in knots, wondering whether we would be able to land and anxious about what we would find if we managed to get there. The damage to the city was horrific but was nothing on the damage to people’s hearts.

Following the news, it’s hard to see any light at the end of the tunnel but being down there I can tell you that there is absolutely still hope, strength and even moments of joy amongst the tragedy. For us, this was embodied by the wedding which against all odds took place on Friday and was beautiful.

Earlier this week I read an article that said the hearing and telling of stories has become the therapy of choice for Christchurch people. On that note, I’d like to share the moments of happiness we experienced while in the city because as horrific, terrifying and tragic as they are, disasters often bring out the best in people.

As you can imagine, it’s pretty hard to get excited about getting married when you’re constantly bombarded with images of death and destruction. Add to this the fact that the wedding dress was still in the CBD along with the Groomsmen’s suits and bridesmaid dresses and you get one very stressed bride to be. The flowers, cake, venue and catering had been pulled together with much compromise but the lack of a dress was still an issue. Then the night before the wedding, a selfless act saved the day.

Sophia’s ex partner’s wife called her up and offered the use of her less than two month old wedding dress. It was a stunning gesture and by a (well overdue) stroke of luck the dress fit like a glove and was eerily similar to the original. Sophia looked amazing.

On the way to the venue (Tom’s Dad’s backyard), the wedding cars were greeted with big smiles and cheers from those on the street. Any doubts we had about whether to go ahead with the day were gone as we saw the happiness on faces of people who have had to deal with unimaginable circumstances.

Believe it or not, there was another hurdle to get over before anyone could get married. One of the wedding cars- the 1950’s Morris Minor - didn’t quite make it. Tom had just enough time to pull over before it died. Within moments a woman had rushed over and offered us a ride. She told us that she had been made homeless by the quake but that she had a car and would take us wherever we needed to be.

So the wedding was saved by a complete stranger who despite losing so much still put us first so that some happiness might be had that day. I was completely overwhelmed.   It just shows you that life has to go on and any joy that can possibly be had in Christchurch needs to be embraced right now, more than ever.

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