Mary Sims didn't know if she was going to survive last year's catastrophic flood.
Cut off, without electricity, running water or telecommunications on her property outside the small town of Uki in NSW's Tweed Valley, Mary began recording her thoughts on her phone.
"I thought 'somebody will come by and find my iPhone and at least know I was here'," she told AAP.
"I don't think I realised how traumatic that whole experience was until it rains again - and then I realise I can't sleep and I can't get back to sleep."
Ms Sims was one of a small group of residents who attended a 'Making peace with the river' event on Tuesday, organised by Tweed Shire Mayor Chris Cherry to mark the one-year anniversary since the entire Northern Rivers region went under water.
Residents and dignitaries chose flowers donated by a local florist to represent hope and threw them into the Tweed River.
"I felt like there's a lot of angst and trauma that people are still feeling when there's heavy rain," Councillor Cherry said.
"There's a fear of it - and I felt like taking that back and saying 'we're still here'."
For Ms Sims, the ceremony and symbolism helped.
"I want to give gratitude for the event today. It gave some of us an opportunity to process what we went through a year ago," she said.
"Where I live we had people who experienced mudslides, mountains came down on them.
"Before the flood, I remember thinking 'oh, how lovely it would be to be on the property and dance naked in the rain' and then during the flood it was a necessity to clean myself in the rain. That pretty well erased that notion for me.
"I know I've had it so much better than so many people who've located to other states and who don't have a home but the psychological effects of it linger on and I don't know how long that will last."
In the Tweed, the Red Cross has served many functions, from delivering emergency aid to co-ordinating evacuation centres and helping with recovery.
It also oversaw the teardrop project, where residents can write their stories anonymously on cardboard tears.
"Feb '22 has forever taken space in my heart. I have been touched by the kindness that was shown by total strangers," one tear reads.
"As the day dawns and a new day rises, I reflect on my life and what has happened in the past 12 months. It has changed - some for the better, some for the worst.
"But the one thing I know is that good people are everywhere."
Cr Cherry agrees.
"It's an incredibly beautiful river and it unites us," she said.
"But we've got a lot to learn."
