The fires were a terrible blow to us and our whole community. We stayed for as long as possible in Sarsfield before urgently evacuating to Bairnsdale. Our home was destroyed and we lost everything. After the fires it was just go, go, go. No time to relax or recover. Insurance, builders, the shire, well meaning people. It never stopped and we were exhausted. Even choosing colours and floor coverings for our new house seemed to be too much work. Plus we had to still go to work, look after family and everything else. With Covid as well, we couldn't go anywhere and travel was mostly out of the question. Over Easter 2021, we needed to get away and we decided to go over to the other side of the state to Ballarat. Just being away from East Gippsland and away from all the recovery was brilliant. A new environment was much needed. We had never been over there before and it was lovely. The thing that got us the most was the stone fences. I loved them and would love to do that here. A holiday was much needed after the drought, the fires and Covid and we came back refreshed and ready to tackle anything. I know there are a lot of organisations out there working in bushfire recovery but if you want to do something that will help, give the people who can't afford it a holiday. Best thing ever.
