False Start
This wasn’t the start we had imagined. It’s been comically askew.
After making a heavy push to leave California well and ensure our NZ immigration went smoothly, we spent two weeks in an Auckland quarantine facility, burst free into our new surroundings… then WHAM-O! NZ’s first COVID case in nearly 6 months produced a nationwide lockdown. After 5 days of freedom and 5 weeks of lockdown, we—and the whole of New Zealand—are ready for a new chapter.
Fortunately, we made good headway to settle in before the lockdown. We explored neighborhoods, went to our first rugby match, gathered a few supplies, secured a car, got into a long-term rental house, and visited the kids’ future school. That's paid dividends while businesses have been shut down. Lesson: sometimes it pays to move fast.
One bright spot of NZ’s lockdown is that outdoor exercise is allowed. That’s meant daily walks to the beach, local nature reserves, and peeking in storefront windows. We feel lucky about where we’ve landed.
Although the lockdown has felt like a whiplash from openness to isolation, change came this week.
Auckland’s lockdown level was reduced, and Lisa started work. With those changes, we’ll gladly ease into our ‘new normal’ here. We’re still weeks away from in-person school or travel beyond Auckland, but that will come. I’ll keep working from home. Lisa will get her bearings at work. And the kids will probably keep surprising us with their resilience, energy, and not-so-subtle unspoken queues of when they need extra time, attention, conversation.
So, cheers to the occasional false start. This one has reminded me of our limits of control.
Comments