Town 'striving for normality'

Town 'striving for normality' :

"'Of course, their lives are never going to be the way they were when they went down the mine on Anzac Day,' she said.

'For both of them, there will be a different timeline basically and that's why my role in the future will be, for the next few weeks, just to monitor them and see how they're going.'"

It is a remarkable story. It has caused a lot of interest. It's a moving story of courage, endurance , resilience and teamwork. It's a story of hoping against hope and the way in which the children in the town were included in one of our unique pieces of history. The psychology of the town is totally amazing. The psychology of the two men who were not found for many days something to hold up to the light. Yes, we are all curious. We are all proud, we all want to know. Softly, softly. These men have withstood so much. They have been held in the arms and hearts of their people and their town. From this point onwards they will need even more care and support. They will need to be monitored and carefuly managed. However much we are driven to know them and praise them, we need to tread softly for fear we shall step on their shadows. They need time to heal. Time to think. Time to feel how they feel and time to mend. They have lost a mate. Everything will affect them as they face each new day above ground. A bit of space, a bit of time and some of that professional help which guided them through their time underground. Two weeks of being a kilometre underground is not something you easily shake off. I am so very grateful we had all the mobile technology we have because apart from the long haul of the miners doing the last of the drilling, the big borers we had, the countless helpers, the mobile gadgets played a focal role. I wish them both well. It is extraordinary the number of people who woke up the moment they were rescued and just "knew". We are still very much linked by one heartbeat. The wisdom of the ancients in this land.