Pandemic move leaves couple stuck in Nova Scotia
When Ian Crewe and his wife, Kaitlin, moved to Nova Scotia from Toronto in September, they weren’t thinking about what was going to happen come December.
Moving during a pandemic was enough to worry about. They had ideas of perhaps going home for Christmas, but it’s become clear they’ll be celebrating on the East Coast this year.
“This was before the second wave really started to hit. We were thinking we were going to be back, and then things started to get really rough, and it occurred to us that quarantine was going to be a problem as well,” says Crewe.
“Because if we go and visit, then there’s quarantine afterward that essentially means I’m not working for a full month, and she’s taking time off at the moment, so there’s the financial concern as well as the health concern.”
Not being able to go home for Christmas has made Crewe a little more aware of the distance, a little more cognizant of how much time with family means.
“You kind of recognize that’s more valuable and maybe treasure those interactions more when you’re no longer living in the same city,” says Crewe. “Even more so under the present circumstances. My family is quite small. It’s just Mom and Dad, my sister and her husband, and my younger nephew, and my grandmother as well. As of this year, there would be a niece who would have joined us for the Christmas party.”
The party normally starts at Crewe’s parents’ house on Christmas Day.
“We would try and come early so that Lucas can unwrap all his presents, which of course he’s very excited about, and it’s very infectious,” says Crewe.
“And then in the afternoon, we would sometimes have a cheese plate and catch up. In the evening, we would do a turkey dinner. Each family member would bring different things, like Kaitlin and I would bring some sliced-up carrots and somebody else would bring a salad, and then Mom would always do the turkey.”
They’d spend time together after, relaxing and chatting, before heading home.
“It’s a simple thing, but it’s nice to have that. It’s nice to get together and catch up with family.”
Being apart is going to be difficult, but it’s a sorrow the Crewes are going to bear with as much stoicism as they can muster.
“We’re kind of a stiffupper-lip kind of family,” says Crewe. “We would definitely do some kind of FaceTime meeting with different family members. Obviously, they would love it if we could be there, but the reality is my mom has some health issues which already weaken her immune system. She’s not even going to see my sister and nephew even though they’re living in the same city. I imagine my grandmother’s going to feel it the most because she doesn’t really get to socialize at all at the moment.”
For their part, Ian and Kaitlin are going to shut out the cold and do their best to pretend they’re somewhere else.
“We’ll turn the heat up, we’ll put on sunscreen — at least I will — we’ll dress in our summer clothes and we’ll hook up our computer to the TV so that it plays waves crashing on a beach,” says Crewe.
He plans to draw the blinds to shut out any signs of snow and they’ll eat summerthemed food throughout the day, possibly ending the evening with a movie.
“So as far as we’re concerned, we’ll get along just fine for our own entertainment. It’s just a pity that the family side of it is likely not going to happen on top of that,” he says.
“On the plus side, nobody in our family has gotten sick as of yet, so we can count ourselves lucky that way. I’m just hoping it stays that way.”
This week, SaltWire Network will bring you the stories of some of the families who won’t be able to be together this Christmas due to COVID-19, and how they’ll celebrate this very different holiday instead.