Slowly made it home
Hello my friends!
This was originally an update for my email list but many people have been wondering what the heck we’ve been up to the past month and what was going on in Puerto Rico with the virus and with the league. So I thought I would make this into a blog post for those who aren’t yet on my email list. But if you’re not, please join by clicking here. I would truly love that.
I am currently writing this newsletter update from the comfort of an ocean front airbnb in Sechelt, British Columbia (on the Sunshine Coast aka where my parents live / where I grew up!). We have successfully completed day FOUR of quarantine… ten more days to go. That’s interesting…
Our place is quite small with one bedroom for sleeping, one bedroom for storage, a bathroom, and then an open kitchen-dining-living space. Luckily we have a little deck right outside and an even larger deck just below us that has been very useful for those Instagram Live workouts.
Accounts I have been really loving lately:
♡ @rewardfitnessstudio a beautiful Fort Langley studio who does DAILY live morning workouts ranging from HITT, body sculpt, sweat/stretch/meditate and barre classes
♡ @jillsaundersfit my girl from the coast (currently looking out at her parents house in a non-creepy way) who has live classes every Wednesday and Sunday morning but her Instagram is full of amazing sweat-inducing workouts
♡ @bootybymich a Vancouverite who has a lot of quick 10-15 minute ab, butt, yoga, movement videos up on her page
♡ @rachaelgoodeats featuring at-home-zero-equipment workouts and FOOD
BUT BACK TO OUR MOVE…
For the two weeks we were in Puerto Rico after the covid crisis blew up, there wasn’t a day that went by where we wouldn’t revisit the idea of flying home. Our families were very worried about us being still down in Puerto Rico and the uncertainty of whether flights would be continuing from the USA to Canada was always in the forefront of our brains. We only just got back a few days ago.
Ultimately there were three reasons why we didn’t get on a plane ASAP.
We adopted a puppy. If you follow me on instagram (@kylarichey) I have surely been spamming your instagram stories with our new fur child Winnie. Unfortunately a few days after we adopted her from the shelter she became extremely sick. A trip back to the shelter and once to the emergency animal hospital only subsided the problems for 24 hours. After that she was back to being very very sick and continued not eating or drinking a thing. We went back to the animal hospital where she eventually ended up staying for 3 nights and 3 full days. She was hooked up to an IV to get the proper hydration and medication she needed to battle the deadly puppy Parvo virus that often runs rampant in shelters (blessed that vet bills are NOTHING like they are up here). She survived and received lots of puppy prayers along the way. A week later we could get her vaccinations.
I was waiting for the league to officially deem it cancelled. All over the world leagues were shutting down and even though Puerto Rico was one of the first places to impose restrictions on businesses, outings, etc., they were still very adamant about ensuring the league continue. The governor imposed the two week shut down of all activities and the league was going to wait until after that to make an official statement on when we would be returning. We had a few practices after all the games on the island were indefinitely cancelled but they seemed halfhearted, understandably so as nobody knew what the heck was going on. We didn’t know when or if the league would start up again and nobody could tell us if we were going to be paid for the month of March (the answer was eventually no…). A few days later my American teammates and I were told that we could fly home and spend these two weeks with our families if we wanted to and wait this whole thing out there. My two teammates flew home almost immediately but I didn’t feel inclined to have Rudy and I to fly back for a week or so only to have to return on our bill. However after the two weeks was up, the governor of course extended the social isolation for yet another two weeks in which we realized if the league were to even start up again, it wouldn’t be until late summer or early fall. And who really knows what the future holds anyways… things were and are changing every single day.
To be completely transparent, I was really anxious about going home. Firstly, to leave meant that I was really unemployed and therefore had made next to zero cash flow since last summer (in the fall I decided to just train at home by myself to get ready for the Olympic Qualifiers in January and then was only paid in Puerto Rico for a month). But finances are one thing and every single person will be struggling with this for the foreseeable future which is pretty stressful. But the other thing that was giving me anxiety was the fact that in Puerto Rico we were set up. We had an apartment, a car, and our little routine. Back home, we had none of those things. Where would we go into our 2 week quarantine? Where would we live after the fact? What the heck am I going to do all summer? We had lived at both of our parents’ homes all fall and for a month in January after the qualifier when I was waiting to sign a contract. I have already done the “rest and recover” lifestyle that the covid-19 chaos has brought forward. I wasn’t ready to go back to that and I was pretty worried about my mental health if we chose to go home.
Last week Monday, we took another peek at the flights and saw that Thursday was the last opportunity to fly home with only one layover through the States. After that, it jumped to two, mostly three, but all the connecting flights were continually being cancelled which would mean to fly home any day after Thursday likely meant more than 3 flights with an overnight layover in some airport. Not the kind of flight path we were willing to take during these unprecedented times (virus and puppy included).
When we booked the flight for Thursday at 2am (which is more popularly viewed as late Wednesday evening) it was Monday night and I was on location at a personal villa shooting some airbnb content. We had to save our packing to the afternoon of our flight. The following day Rudy took Winnie to the vet (thank goodness they could get us in right away!) to get her the necessary vaccinations to ensure she could fly to Canada as well as up to the animal shelter to officially adopt her as our fur child while I finished my photography assignment. The next day we drove up the coast to get a rental van and then back down to our apartment where we spent the afternoon packing and cleaning up our apartment. A few hours later, we drove across the entire island of Puerto Rico to the airport which normally takes 3.5 to 4 hours + but with the 7pm curfew we arrived in less than two hours. In fact, we arrived WAY TOO promptly that we had another two hours to kill after we dropped the car off before we could even check in; the airport and flight desks didn’t open for another two hours. So Winnie and I made ourselves comfortable on the floor.
Many of you have been asking about the airports and the planes and the travel day in general in terms of the virus. To be honest, it was the best travel day I’ve had in a long time (if you don’t include the deadly virus that is taking over the world). But the airports were super empty, there were no lines, the flight attendants were pretty lax, and our planes only had 18 and 25 humans aboard. We also got to upgrade to business class for $100 which never ever happens to me. So even with a first time puppy flier, my anxiety was decently controlled and I am happy to report that it went well. The strange thing however is we didn’t get our temperature checked once. And when we arrived in Dallas, less than half the humans in the airport (which wasn’t a whole lot) were wearing masks or using other precautionary measures. It definitely didn’t seem as stressful down there albeit unsafe. Coming into Vancouver we were asked to fill out a form indicating our whereabouts for the next two weeks for mandatory self isolation + quarantine. The agents made sure we knew what exactly was expected of us with very large fines if we didn’t comply, and there were people near the baggage claim answering any questions that we had about the procedure which I was happy to see.
I am grateful that what could have been an outrageously anxiety-filled travel day with the virus and a puppy was in fact, as smooth as it could have been. And as you can see from the photos below, Winnie was as happy as a clam.
Luckily my parents in law had a car waiting for us at the airport which is ours for the next few months. We filled it up (three suitcases and a large kennel) and drove to Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal, boarded the ferry, stayed in our car, and eventually made it over to where I grew up: the Sunshine Coast. Unfortunately we aren’t able to see friends or family which means we couldn’t stay with my parents for the time being so we opted for our little air bnb rental right on the ocean (not a bad place to be for the next month).
If you’re struggling, KNOW that I am a resource for you, for whatever you may need. Professional life abroad can be very very lonely. We spend a lot of time in our apartment, entertaining ourselves, rushing in and out of grocery stores, trying to stay healthy and happy. I realize that this is a brand new world for many, plus the stress of being laid off, not knowing what the future holds, homeschooling children if you have them, and spending 1000% of every moment with your spouse (yikes!).
A FEW TIPS I CAN GIVE YOU RIGHT NOW:
❀ Identify the things that you always WISH you had time to do when you were busy. A few examples are: trying out meditation, read that book you got for (last) Christmas, organize your closet or that old box of photos. For me I always wanted more time to edit photos and create blogs. And well… I guess I better get going!
❀ Trying out new forms of exercise. I usually went to the gym or some group workout classes but now I am exploring new classes, new instructors, and new forms of movement with all the free live instagram classes (noted above). This has been good for me in a lot of ways. I am trying very hard to listen to my body and what it needs each particular day. Instead of always going 120% in the weight room, I am now opting in for a deep stretch and meditation or online barre class. If your day to day anything doesn’t look the same as one month ago… it is OKAY. It’s great, even.
❀ Jump back into the joy of cooking. Find some recipes in that dusty old (but brand new) cookbook that’s sitting on your shelf or check out Pinterest for some healthy, easy recipes. I love food and have been pinning lots of yummy stuff if you need some inspiration — you can follow me: here.
❀ Make sure you’re still prioritizing sleep! Our sleep rituals should not just melt away because we don’t need to get up and go to the office early next morning. I try and get off my screen an hour before bed (although I can also improve this right now!), I diffuse lavender essential oils, take a shower, and read a novel to ensure my mind starts slowing down to prepare for sleep. Growing up I always struggled with falling asleep so even to this day, all these steps are crucial for me.
❀ Wake up, make your bed, take a shower, and maaaaybe get dressed? I love myself a good cozy sweatsuit day but after a couple days in a row I start feeling a bit icky which then translates to my productivity, my food choices, and sleep. It’s different for everyone but just start paying attention to what things are really filling you up and bringing you that daily joy that it is so important to have, especially these days. Make a list of what you did in the day and mark it off before bed, reflecting what was a joy filler or joy killer. It’s interesting to see what comes up.
Later this week I will be blogging some more ideas on how to fill your days and some other resources to help with feelings of anxiety and lethargy.
Remember, you are not alone. We are ALL feeling a bit mixed up and upset over what’s going on in the world. I am also walking this journey with you — RIGHT beside you in fact. I have gone through the suffocating depths of anxiety and depression and I know that so many of us are experiencing these feelings for the first time or if they aren’t new, they are heightened. Feel free to reach out to me and just say “I’m feeling it too.” I promise to respond and remind you that you’re not alone.
In the meantime, you can head over to my instagram as there are many puppy videos of Winnie that will surely make you smile. In fact I just made a highlight on my profile for easy smile-inducing content.
I would also LOVE to hear what is on your heart these days (anxiety, depression, loneliness, boredom, etc.) so I can compile some resources and blogs to help you during this time. You can comment below or reach out to me privately. And be sure to sign up for email list so I can send you some good vibes and inspiration. Let me know how I can be a resource to you.
All my love. Stay happy my friends.
Don’t hate me, but this is our view for the next month. I hope you can find some peace and serenity also.