The Simplest Thing

 “Did you notice that,
  happiness
  happens less
  the more often you stop to find where it's been hiding”

                                    -Hey Rosetta (The Simplest Thing)

It is often said that less is more, a concept that has eluded me until recent months.  Trained for years by the fast paced world of post graduate academia, I quickly learned to fill each hour of the day with as much productivity as possible, on as little sleep as needed. I have recently realized that I carried that philosophy straight into my personal and professional life.

Moving to New Zealand has had a profound effect on this mindset.  Honestly speaking, it is not a New Zealand thing, though the laid back lifestyle and cruisy mentality of the kiwi personality hasn’t hindered the adjustment.  It is the simplification of nearly everything in our life that stimulated the change. Literally everything has come back to basics; our possessions, our clothing, our budget, the amount of people we know, and our time commitments. This clean sweep has led us to sift through the clutter we had created, and start to truly enjoy the important things in life.

We were far from unhappy living in Canada, but we certainly were busy; often filling our days to the max and dreaming of a weekend when we could catch up, or rest. There were times when this high paced lifestyle started to catch up with us, and would often wear us down. We finally do not feel like we are playing catch up. Instead we are starting to appreciate the value of eight hours of sleep, the joy of family time, and the guilt free feeling of taking a nap or reading the newspaper on the weekend. Don’t get me wrong. We still have busy weeks, filled with days of work, housekeeping, grocery shopping, working out, and a list of things to do. We still have bad days, and feel tired at the end of the week. Life isn’t perfect, but it is no longer a rat race.  

As our lives here begin to evolve, we have continued to embrace our new motto of simplicity. We now choose to spend our time doing things that we are excited about doing, and spending less time on the “should dos”. On the top of this list has been exploring the local landscape on our newly purchased bikes. After making the decision that we could survive here without a car, we decided that purchasing bikes would be an essential second option to public transit. Riding our bikes has opened up a whole new world of trails, streets, and beautiful landscape to us. On the weekends, if the weather is fine, we will take our bikes out for a long ride to explore the local area. Our explorations have given us a whole new perspective on our surroundings, and also provided us with a sense of newfound freedom.

I also have been commuting to and from work on my bike. Being that a large part of the population of  Paraparaumu lives here, but works in Wellington, the morning rush hour is fairly tame. This allows me a peaceful ride to and from work without too much stress of dodging traffic. I wake up each morning, eager to check the weather outside. Rain and high winds usually mean I will be limited to public transit, an transportation option that is usually my second choice.  The commute on my bike is about 20 minutes each way, depending on the strength of the wind. It is relatively flat, which allows me to shower prior to leaving for work, and arrive still smelling lovely enough to treat patients (once I’ve changed my clothes and fixed my helmet hair). The best part, however, is the ride home. My route runs parallel to the ocean for about fifty percent of the ride. Though the road runs parallel, the view of the ocean is often blocked by homes and vegetation for a good part of the ride. However, there is one segment, about 10 minutes from home, where the beach opens up, unblocked by any physical structure. It is here, that you are able to bask in the incredible view of the ocean and Kapiti Island in the distance. Whether it is a sunny afternoon, a colour saturated dusk, or a cloudy overcast day, this view never fails to stop me in my mental tracks and take notice of its beauty. For the next three minutes of my ride, regardless of how good or bad my day was, I am overtaken by a deep sense of gratitude and appreciation for my surroundings, and the simple beauty of the natural environment of New Zealand. 

And just like that, whatever chaos that may have been rolling around in my brain is suddenly washed out to sea.

That seems to happen a lot to us here, those moments when the beauty, or pure presence of nature, seems to stop us, forcing us to experience its wonder. The events of Saturday morning are a perfect example. Awaking early to the feeling of Huff’s nose in my face, her tail wagging quietly at the side of the bed, our Saturday morning routine sprung into full swing. After a lazy breakfast, we set out for a morning walk on the beach. Walking through the dunes on our beach access route, I caught site of a shape on the sand that looked like an animal. Second guessing myself out loud, I disregarded the shape as one of the many large pieces of driftwood that often washes up from Kapiti Island. Trent took a closer look to find that it was indeed a full grown seal! It was lying on the beach hardly moving, other than to lift its head or flipper. We were concerned that it might be sick or be close to death. We left it in peace to continue our walk, and Trent searched the web for a number to call to get it some help. By the time we returned back down the beach, the seal was still there, lying still as before, but this time we had two more dogs and their respective owners in tow. One owner contacted the SPCA, who provided her with a number to the Coast Guard who could help in this situation.  We are not sure if it was the threat of the coast guard, the dogs nearby playing, or just that the tide was coming in, but the seal started to move. Taking its time to yawn, stretch, have a good shake and a drink of sea water, it made its way back out to sea waving his flipper in the air as he went. (Ok, that last part didn’t happen). Turns out he was just having a nap.



This is when we thought he was sick



Waking up...

Good Morning Stretch

It is moments like these that seem to make our New Zealand experience unique. On a day to day basis, life seems to move ahead as normal, in a way that we might live in any city in Canada. But it is these small, unique and special moments each day that create a collection of reminders of where we are and what we are doing.

While the simplicity of our lives may not last forever, the experience of removing the clutter has taught us a valuable lesson that we will carry forward into future endeavors. In the absence of the extra noise, I have come to love and appreciate my best friend and little family in a deeper and more meaningful way, spending my time carefully, instead of testing its limits each day. In a fast paced and material driven world, I had previously thought that feeling this way would be something short of a dream.

It turns out, it’s just the simplest thing.

The Opening Act

Here in the southern hemisphere, we are starting to make the transition between summer and fall. The nights have grown cooler and the sun sets earlier;  you need a warmer sweater for a nighttime walk with the dog; and it suddenly has become that much harder to climb out of a warm bed in the morning (especially when you’re the only one going to work). Autumn is knocking at our doorstep.  A New Zealand fall is an entirely unique experience for us in several ways. Growing up surrounded by the yellow, red and orange notes of fall in Northern Ontario, I have just realized how the change in colour of a single leaf has become so important to my seasonal mindset. Without those glorious colours, fall seems just like a colder version of summer, occurring in months that are, in my mind, supposed to be spring. But I suppose it was all inevitable, we have been basking in the sun since November, just when we were supposed to be slipping into the depths of winter. Summer was not going to last forever.

While the seasons change outside, our tide seems to be following suite. Having finally made to the end of our relocation marathon, we have now come to the task of painting our new life on a fresh blank canvas.

The first stroke was painted three weeks ago when I returned to the world of work. After three months off, I found myself ready and motivated to start my new job. Returning to work this month has triggered me into realizing just how tired and stressed I was in the past year prior to leaving Canada. It has felt so refreshing to enjoy my work again and to feel focused and fulfilled by it each day. The clinic is small and busy, and the patient population is a mixed bag of sports/gardening injuries, spinal injuries and general orthopedics. The population here is generally active, healthy,  and have a friendly nature that makes them fun to treat. Almost daily I have a new patient tell me about their travels or love of all things Canada, which makes me feel close to home, and proud  to be Canadian. One of my patients came to her appointment the other day wearing her Canadian souvenir t-shirt. She then told me that she had built her own Inuksuk in her garden after being inspired by them on a recent trip to Vancouver.  Another patient proudly told me that fifteen years ago he and his wife had bought a $99 Greyhound bus ticket that had allowed them to travel across Canada. They didn’t waste a cent, as they travelled from Vancouver to Halifax over the next three months, stopping to meet countless canucks along the way.

  It seems that there is a lot of kiwi love for Canada.  

My patients have also been teaching me a lot about local geography and local slang. Each day I seem to come home with a new addition to my kiwi vocabulary which has included, but is not limited to the following:

“Sweet as”
that’s it, nothing follows it, something is just “sweet as”. Used in a sentence this might sound like this.  “This this beer is sweet as”

“Good as gold”
This is one of my favourites; it seems that whether I am telling my patients how many reps of an exercise to do, or their surgical prognosis, this still seems to be the answer.

“Sticks”
Kiwi speak for cane(s), I’m still trying my best to use this one with my elderly patients.

“Full on”
This is somewhere between intense and serious or exciting. Put in a sentence would sound like this:
“That rugby match was full on”

“Fine”
This one still gets me. Calling nice weather something as simple as fine seems like an insult. But I guess it’s better than using ugly words windy, rainy and cold. I have started to embrace fine days.

As you can see, going back to work has not only been fruitful for my wallet, but also for my language development.

As the days started to pass, and our routine has started to develop. I go to work and the gym, and Trent stays behind, and lives life as a stay at home dad with his four legged daughter. Together they seem to live a busy existence of beachcombing, going to the gym, doing laundry, buying groceries, cooking, talking politics, watching sports, collecting seashells, and sorting out household issues. They also have the occasional nap. On the weekends we walk to the Paraparaumu Beach Farmers Market and buy veggies, bread and coffee; go for walks in Queen Elizabeth Park, a network of hiking trails; sample local New Zealand wine, and generally enjoy some time together.

Trent in Queen Elizabeth Park

Two weekends past, we found ourselves waking up bright and early on Sunday morning to a very familiar feeling. It was race day. For those of you who don’t know, training and competing for half and full marathons have been something Trent and I have done together for the past two years. After being a spectator during my third marathon in Ottawa in 2009, Trent stated that he would like to run a half marathon one day. My answer was, “so do it”. It was sometime after this moment that my newest running partner was born. And “do it” he has. Trent has gone on to compete with me in two full marathons, and a handful of half marathons in in Canada and the US since.  Last Sunday morning we were off to add a new checkpoint to our running map. The AMI Round the Bays Half Marathon was to be our first road race in New Zealand.

Being that the race was held in Wellington and was designed to literally run around the two bays that make up the local waterfront, we were expecting this race to be windy and most likely a bit cold. We could not have been more off the mark. It turns out that the weather gods had blessed us with an amazing day of sunshine, warmth, and gentle winds to run a beautiful race course along the edge of the South Pacific. For me, this race was meaningful in many ways; it was the first race we had competed in in New Zealand, and it was the first race I had ran since May 2011, after incurring a ligamentous injury to my right knee in September. After a long rehab which seeped into my three month vacation, it was a great feeling to pick up my race bib and step onto the start line surrounded by thousands of other racers.  It was a great race for both of us, coming across the line at 1:55 (Heather) and 1:54 (Trent), no personal bests, but no personal worsts either. J It was nice to be back.

At the start line AMI Round the Bays Half Marathon

The next few strokes of paint on our canvas were even more significant. We had finally found a long term home! Or, as long term as you can consider a six month contract. For us, at this point, six months seems like an eternity. Since leaving Canada in late November, Trent and I have not stayed in any one location for longer than six weeks. We were becoming travelling gypsies. It was time to settle down and enjoy the feeling of home again.

Huff and I at our new house!

Our new home is located about a 10 minute walk away from our previous place. Walking from our old place to the new one, you walk towards the ocean, which means our new home is on the street that runs parallel to the beach. We are renting a house that is owned by a family who only uses it during the summer. It is a really cute two bedroom beach style home, with a beautiful garden and back patio. Clean, homey and with some really cute accents, we couldn’t be happier to be in a place that feels warm and comfortable.  There are several wine glasses in the cupboard, an array of food magazines on the coffee table, a full set up of pots and pans in the kitchen, and a lime tree in the garden.  I think we would be good friends with the people who own this place.

View of the kitchen :)

Huff checks out the back yard

Huff continues to enjoy her new surroundings, the freedom of her new backyard, and the proximity to the off leash oasis of the beach. She has started to make some new friends on her daily walks, and we think she may have a new boyfriend (don’t tell Deacon!). After experiencing some separation anxiety during the first week that she was home from quarantine, she has settled into her New Zealand routine nicely. She seems to be braver and a lot less timid on the other end of her travel experience, which has allowed us to bring her to places we would have never dared to before, like to the farmers market and an outdoor patio of a café. She loves the open freedom of having her own backyard that she can move in and out of the house from at her own leisure, without having to be taken out by one of us on a leash. This has meant that she now has a daily ritual of leaving the house promptly after dinner in order to stretch and roll around in the grass. She says it helps her to digest. We cannot imagine what life would be like here without her daily antics, and are grateful each day that we decided to bring her along for the ride.

Huff and her new beau

As the leaves of my seasonal mindset have started to turn from green to red, I begin to digest t the reality of the great adventure we have embarked on. Sometimes I look at our life and feel like I am watching it all on film in an air of disbelief that we are really here, living the life the way we had dreamed. It feels like that first September day when you look up to see the amazing theatrical display of fall colours that summer had been keeping behind its curtain of green.  After months of peaking behind the curtain at a life in New Zealand, we were finally on the playbill.

The reviews are fantastic.