Rinse & Repeat

The rest of 2020 to 2021 went quickly and excruciatingly slowly at the same time! Covid-19 finally reached NZ and lockdowns, restrictions and vaccination mandates became our new norm! We were lucky to be in the position we were, being in and out of lockdowns and restrictions for weeks at a time on thirty-one beautiful acres was a blessing and a privilege and not something we ever took for granted.

Don’t get me wrong, we had moments where the frustration at having to continue waiting was so painful and soul destroying that we began to doubt that we would ever get to Canada, especially as in all honesty as soon as our PR visas had arrived back in August 2020, we had left NZ mentally and now here we were, stuck in limbo with no end in sight.

We are super positive people, but it took a herculean effort to maintain that positivity and channel our energies into productive pursuits rather than take a long soak in a hot tub of self-pity.

Patience is not about the waiting, but the ability to remain positive while you do.

We did everything we could to keep our minds busy like tidy and clear up the garden, de-clutter and begin packing the house, sell furniture, tools, and equipment we did not want to take with us and just generally off load all the rubbish we had accumulated over the years.

Emptying my wardrobe was a job I regretted immediately, I mean who needs that many shoes and clothes? … oh yes me!

The furniture went, even the sofa! Another decision we were to regret. The camp chairs (or instruments of torture as I like to call them) did not last long and were soon swapped out with bean bags which whilst comfortable were nigh on impossible for anyone over 40 years old to get out of, (just picture a walrus shuffling and rolling its way to the ocean, that was us getting out of a bean bag!) let’s face it bean bags are only suitable for toddlers, children and pets, not grown arsed adults!

And today I will find joy in the small things.

We squeezed fun things in too during the lockdowns such as valley walks, picnics, BBQs, and bonfires in our own back yard, we went on camping trips and stopped in cafes and supported local tourism when the restrictions eased.

Over time we learned to relax and enjoy each moment as it came, to take some time for us, get some perspective and appreciate the journey and of course trust and believe that things were working out and moving in the right direction, no matter how long it was taking.

Picnics at home and days spent camping became a small adventure

We chased waterfalls, ate pies, and caught up on our sun and vitamin sea.

When we create peace, and harmony and balance in our minds, we will find it in our lives. – Louise Hay

We settled into a steady rhythm of working, preparing, saving, and trying to make the most of things, and whilst the restrictions in NZ increased, we watched expectantly as the restrictions in other countries around the world including Canada begin to ease, things were finally looking up!

In June 2021 we were elated to discover that the restrictions imposed for non-essential travel into Canada were easing and that the borders were beginning to re-open. By August 2021 we had received official notification from Canadian Immigration that we were now permitted to travel however, lest we should get too excited (after all we have been through in this blog so far you must have known this however was coming right??) in the year that we had been waiting for the Canadian borders to re-open our PR visas had expired.

Rough seas make smooth stones.

Yep, you have got it! So having waited so long to get our PR visas to travel to Canada, the Canadian borders closed for travel forcing us to we wait over a year to be permitted to travel again only to discover we could not travel because we had expired PR visas! Honestly, you could not make this stuff up.

But there was no need to panic right? All we needed to do was get our Immigration Medicals repeated (yes that included paying another $500+ per person for the privilege) and submitted to Canadian Immigration within the required 30 days, this would be a breeze.

Are you having a déjà vu moment yet? If we were in a horror movie this would be the point where we would all be screaming “don’t go into the basement.” Nothing in this process is simple and I cannot understand why we kept expecting it to be because it was at this point that Auckland went into another lockdown.

From the full lockdown we went into Level 3 restrictions which meant that only essential medical services were permitted, the days were passing, and the clock was ticking. Were we going to get our medicals completed and submitted in the 30 days required by Canadian Immigration?