Cool Change at last, but now the details are filtering in

The cool change came through last evening ... and it just kind of astounds me that it could be so stinkin' hot one minute, (we broke ALL heat records yesterday) but within a few hours, the temps had dropped 40+ degrees! Well, that's not a minute, but you know what I mean.

It's 14.1C (57.38F) right now, but yesterday, we hit an all-time high of 46.1 (114.98F) at the airport and by late afternoon, it had dropped right down to 15.5C (60F).
Let me tell ya, it was a miserable, miserable day... and with 4 special needs kids in care for the weekend, it was a battle to keep everyone quiet and at least somewhat cool.

Kids get cranky with the heat and 2 of my children ( 6 yr old with Downs and a 4yr old with Autism) well, they just did NOT want to settle. They moaned and groaned and picked and fought all day long. Tempers were high and I have to tell you, there were moments throughout the day when I could fully understand some species eating their young.

Against all Family Daycare rules and regulations, the kids were stripped right down to their underpants.. because even the air conditioner just could not keep up with the heat.
I felt that the heat had the poor little boogers stressed enough, so to keep them from being scared in addition to being heat stressed, I wore a little bit more than just my underpants. Let me tell ya, wearing a floor length caftan is not a good idea when you have 4 cranky kids all looking for something to do.

I think I spent most of the day trying to drag kids from underneath the caftan and as soon as I would get one out, another would take their place. I tried distracting them. I brought out the play-dough. I brought out the puzzles. I read books and put videos on. Nothing and I mean nothing, would distract them from wanting to play tents with my clothing.
And they thought that they were hot and cranky? Having small, smelly, sticky people crawling up your dress all day long always puts me in a bad mood too ... so it wasn't nice at all.

And do you know, only ONE parent called to see how their child was faring with the extreme heat? That mum had just given birth to another baby, and the first thing she did after getting back to her room, was have dad call and check up on their 6 yr old.
The others never made any attempt at all, which makes me wonder if it was a case of
"out of sight, out of mind", for those other parents. Which wouldn't surprise me at all.


Lord have mercy... it was a hellish day all around Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia. with homes being destroyed, people dying in the fires and an uncertain/ undisclosed amount simply dying of the heat.
There was absolute devastation everywhere, and it wouldn't surprise me to learn that the toll is going to be much, much bigger than we can even imagine.

I checked the news first thing this morning, and within a space of about an hour, the initial reports of 14 deaths had risen to 25 and they're expecting a lot more once they can get into burned out areas.
It just boggles the mind.

And please spare a thought and a few prayers for the magnificent fire-fighter's and SES volunteers who are doing their absolute best in these horrible conditions.
God bless them all ...