What?! – Covid-19…
March 21st – As predicted, I did not wake up feeling a 100%. What a surprise… Songs and drinks were still swirling in my head. Not to mention the room. And I woke up thinking I still had that plastic microphone in my hand.
I tried to stay in bed as long as I could to sleep it off. And my wonderful hubby brought me a coffee in bed to help with my slightly pounding head. What a guy. But it wasn’t going to be the hangover that would ruin my day so much as the email I was about to read.
Our flight home for April 1st has been cancelled.
What?!
That is a bit of a curveball to get first thing in the morning. I mean, we knew it was a possibility after the airline announced it was no longer doing long hauls after March 30th, but we thought they wouldn’t actually cancel existing full flights. Just not add any more.
I had to read it a couple of times. I wasn’t sure I was actually understanding what was written. We called the travel agent and she confirmed what the email said. She also confirmed there were no more available flights back to Canada. She advised us to start making arrangements to be there for a bit.
What?! Wow. Ok. That is a lot to take in.
Of course, there was more to come. As we chatted with her, we received yet another email. This time from the Canadian Consulate telling us to prepare for a 2-3 month extended stay. What?! OMG… What the hell does that mean?
It may sound clear at first read, but when you start thinking about it, there are a few questions that come to mind. Such as… What about our whole, entire life back in Canada?
I hadn’t even got out of bed yet. This was a lot to process by 11am.
After getting over the initial shock of it all, we started to make the calls back home to family and friends. Made sure someone could still look in on our house, the plants and of course that little gecko of ours.
It was time to head upstairs to let our hosts know that some guests apparently never leave.
Our hosts, the Kiwi, M, Curly Fries and Tenacious C, are incredible people. I mean, really awesome, incredible people. We are so lucky to have them in our lives. Without hesitation, they said “No prob. You can stay with us until we figure things out. We will get things set up and sorted so we are all comfortable here for as long as needed”. Remember, we have an email saying 2-3 months and they didn’t even blink. They just opened up their home and their lives to us. Incredible. I get a little emotional every time I think about that moment.
Now, it was time to let the kids know. Neither the hubby or I were looking forward to telling them. And of course, they took it as expected. It wasn’t easy. A lot of hugs and tears… from all of us.
Ok. Now to start worrying about everything and nothing. Money. The bane of our existence. We knew we needed a source of income, job, asap if we really were stuck in NZ for 2-3 months. The Kiwi said “I may know a guy”. That’s cool!
Next thing. We would need a place to stay long term. The Kiwi and M re iterated that we don’t worry about that now. They got us. Ok cue tears again.
The kids. School. Routine.
M reminded me that we can address routine now. We can start by sorting out the sleeping quarters and work stations. Ok that sounds like a plan.
Schools were still closed in Canada. No online learning yet. And NZ schools were still open. Let’s look into getting them enrolled here. Ok, another step in the right direction.
Cool. Ok, feeling like we have some control over this. Right?!
And we felt like even better after a killer dinner and some vino. Funny how even with life changing news, everything seems ok when you are with good friends, sharing a good meal and some vino.
Well, with that said, bring on tomorrow.
