Imperfect

The low morning sun shone through this poppy this morning and, beautiful though I can see it is now, it reminds me that little in this world is perfect.

I was surprisingly awake and alert when I felt the earth jiggle and the house groan and creak. A 5.8 earthquake, centred about 100kms east and about 20kms deep started the heart racing a little too quickly for a Sunday morning. No material damage. That's good.

The day got going in my usual Sunday morning way - slowly. Sometimes you just feel so helpless and, much as you want to reach out and hug someone, you just can't. The morning felt like an earthquake rumbling around my heart.

Then just to drive the point home, a little after 5.00pm another quake - the biggest I think I've ever felt - a 6.7, just 9kms deep, centred in the same area off the East Coast. The phone started ringing as friends checked up on me and told of their experiences and slowly the news from further afield has begun filtering through - there is some damage this time, in Wellington. I guess well have to wait and see how things unfold . . . . .

Imperfect indeed.