Just a thought… Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow. [Swedish proverb]
Vaccines: check.
Move out cleaning: check.
Packing list: some checks….
Well, this is a week fraught with worry for us, but nothing like food insecurity or illness. Not real worry. No – this is the kind of “you did this to yourselves!” anxiety, which gives you a fresh voice in your head to try to drown out!
This Thursday Rob and I will fly to Puerto Vallarta where we’ve rented a house in nearby Nuevo Vallarta. He stays two weeks, comes back down at Christmas and returns one more time to get me in March, and I’m packing for four months there.
I’ve never done this: tried to fill two large suitcases with clothes (not many) and our comforts of home. Does the house we’re renting have a coffee maker? Of course, but it’s not a Nespresso, so we’re taking our tiny one, alongside – don’t laugh – an air fryer. They’re in the suitcase, and so is my weighted blanket. Anything else I need I’ll buy there, once I figure out how to get to and from the shops without a car. My step counter is going to be very happy this winter!
As you may have heard on Gracefully and Frankly Episode 151 (and if you’re not listening, join us – you’re missing a fun half hour with me and my pal and radio vet Lisa Brandt, free every Thursday or whenever) we are taking Dottie and Livi with us to Mexico to keep me company for the winter.
We flew with them to Ottawa last spring on the same airline as a trial run; all went well as they curled up in their respective carriers under the seats ahead of us. This time, though, we have to stop off at a special office in the PVR airport and get them checked, present their papers and make sure they get the green light.
Here’s where the worry comes in: there’s no good reason they won’t be okayed, and we even went to our own YYJ airport to make sure the girls’ carriers suited WestJet’s extremely picky size allowances, but…what if something goes wrong? We had to pay $100 per dog, each way, to get them there and back (in otherwise unused space under the seat ahead of us); a trip to the vet last week to have their papers checked and get flea/tick/heartworm meds for the winter all came to the grand sum of $800. Yep. Not travelling for a long trip with the girls again, I’m afraid. And I know I won’t be going away for this long again.
Anyway, I’ll be sure to keep you posted here and on my Facebook page as we take off Thursday and land and get settled in our new winter abode. Life was a lot easier just making the three-day drive to California but, of course, any travel to or through the US is not going to happen. We even got a direct flight from Victoria (hurray!) to make sure. Hearing that plenty of US airports are cutting back flights makes us doubly sure we made the right decision.
As for other worries (like where to get a meal the first night without a car or groceries), we’ll deal with them when we settle in. My nicotine gum addiction (’cause it’s always something with me) is facing some serious challenges as any nicotine replacements are forbidden in Mexico. I’ll take what I can get away with and then figure it out. I wanted to quit it anyway…and Rob will be lucky he won’t be around when I do.
So that’s where we are. After a weekend spent cleaning the house that we’ve sold and closes while we’re away, the days ahead involve tying up loose ends: lawyer visit, hair, nails, dog groomer, etc.. I’m also getting more Drift with Erin Davis sleep stories recorded in my studio so I can edit while I’m away and have fresh ones for you in the months ahead.
I thought about writing Christmas cards that Rob can mail when he gets back to Canada before December arrives, but I’m afraid I’ll just have to miss them this year. Efforts to remain sane include cutting back where we can, and just going with the flow but not the Ho Ho Ho.
Take care of yourself. Of course, we’ll all be pausing at 11 am in our respective time zones tomorrow to remember our veterans. I’ll be thinking of my dad who died this summer, and his immense pride in serving our country. He never saw conflict, thank God, but he was always ready, often gone from home, and we are grateful for his contributions to Canada’s safety and sovereignty, as we are for all the sacrifices of our veterans, active military personnel and their families. Love to them all.
Sisters Cindy and Heather, Ottawa 1963