IWANUS: The Call of Home - Moving to New Brunswick (Part 3)

Columnist reflects on carving new path in N.B. and that journey's highs and lows

In his latest Prairie Maritimer column, Jerry Iwanus writes about the process of building a new life in retirement in Pointe-Sapin. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

If you had the chance again, would you rearrange things?

If you had the chance again, would you really change things?

From “You’ll Be Home Again” by Allister MacGillivray

Tempus fugit

It’s hard to believe, but, as per my last column, it’s been well over five years since my friend and I pulled into the driveway after dark, with a disintegrated rear tire and most of my wife’s and my worldly possessions in tow.

A lot happens in five years — job changes, semi-retirement, expanded families, activities tried and abandoned, health changes, life generally lived, and identities forged.

Most of what we hoped for in moving to New Brunswick has met or exceeded expectations, while some has not. But this wouldn’t be unusual, as life is full of twists and turns regardless of location. We have gained a sense of belonging to a place; we see the ocean every day; we are closer to family; and we get to live our lives in two, and sometimes even three, languages.

The things we miss about living in Alberta are the things we knew we would miss: our children; our friends; having a university campus in our community, with all the different activities and people there; proximity to a major city (Edmonton) and all the options that this entails; and just having a wide array of contacts in so many different facets of our lives.

But, as Joni Mitchell sang, “Something’s lost and something’s gained in living every day.” Regardless of trade-offs, we were both now exactly where we belonged.

---

A good start when we got here, but then…

After arriving at the end of July those five-plus years ago, there were many things to do in August to get settled in: buy one new vehicle and register the other; buy stuff we would need for the house; try to find a family physician; and prepare for starting our latest jobs in September — me at Service New Brunswick’s Property Assessment Services office in Miramichi and my wife in the psychiatric ward at the Miramichi Regional Hospital.

There were some challenges with those jobs, not the least of which was that each was an hour away. However, we persevered for the time being. I eventually transferred to the closer Richibucto Service New Brunswick office, while my wife got a job at a nursing home in Rexton, next to Richibucto. We also spent considerable time thinking about what our lives outside of work would look like and who we would be as New Brunswickers.

But then, as we all know, COVID-19 made its heralded appearance in March 2020, and everything changed both for us and for the rest of the world. My wife and I were fortunate in that each of our jobs was deemed necessary, so we were very grateful not to experience any loss of income during that time.

Naturally, my wife still had to go to her place of work every day, as I did at the outset, at least until I received a laptop and cell phone, allowing me to work from home.