April 18th – 26th • Becoming Canadian • Part 2
This blog was originally going to be one post but when I started writing I realized there really was so much that went into this process. You can read about the journey I took to Canada in January to do my interview on my previous blog Becoming Canadian • Part 1. Today’s post will be about the actual Canadian Citizenship Ceremony and the journey the kids and I took to trek back to Canada. My nephews had just come to spend 2 weeks with us before we had to leave making this time super crazy for us. They left on April 16th and we left on April 18th to start our journey to Canada. This trip would only be me and the kids, as Kevin had a big tractor delivery to take care of and he still didn’t have his permission to travel out of the country yet. One day I need to have Kevin write a blog and tell you all the miles he does for work as it is far more than we have done as a family.
We left Iowa on the morning of the 18th and drove straight through to Minot, ND for the night for a total of 757 miles (1,218 KM). We got in early enough for me to be able to get supper with the kids, get them settled in the hotel, and head to the gym for the night. With this journey, I have to constantly remind myself no matter how busy I get that I have to take care of myself so I can be the best person I can be for everyone around me. I love that my family supports me and helps me make time for myself even with this crazy busy schedule we have.
On the morning of the 19th, we started our journey to cross the Canadian border. We went through the North Portal, SK crossing, and then stopped in Carlyle, SK for some coffee at Micheal’s Coffee Shop and Bakery. If you know me you know that I love me a good cappuccino and I’m always on the hunt for a good small-town coffee shop that knows how to make a perfect capp. I found that at Micheal’s Coffee Shop, they made a perfect cappuccino without me having to tell them how to make it and the food there was fresh and amazing! I would have gone here every day if it wasn’t so far from where we were staying in Melville.
We then headed to our hotel in Melville where we would be staying for the next few days with my in-laws for our Canadian Citizenship Ceremony and to take care of finalizing our house that we sold in Ituna, SK. Wow, as I’m typing this it just made me realize the full circle we took if you read my Becoming Canadian • Part 1 you would know that we moved to the house in Ituna, SK in 2015 when we first entered Canada. Now we are selling that house and we are getting our Citizenship. I look back at our journey and how it has brought us here and I’m so thankful for every step that we have taken in this process. The friends we have met, the doors that have been open, and the opportunities that have been given to us are amazing. Once we got to Melville, we met up with my in-laws Garry and Dianne for supper then headed back to get everyone settle because tomorrow is the big day! Our house in Iowa doesn’t have a bathtub just a shower so when we travel John’s favorite part is the bathtub so, of course, he needs to take a bath before we headed to bed that night.
On the morning of the 20th, we got early for some Tim Horton’s of course! Had breakfast with Grandpa Garry and Grandma Dianne and then got all set up for our virtual Canadian citizenship Ceremony. Dianne was kind enough to watch Lita and John while Garry joined us for our ceremony. We got the laptop set up in our room and joined the call to get sworn in as Canadian Citizens. Although I was sad we couldn’t do it in person I’m still so very happy we got to do this ceremony. Since Ruth lives in Saskatoon, she joined us from her work and we logged in from our hotel room. The entire process took about 2 hours but most of it was waiting for them to verify everyone’s information once that was all done we were all brought into a group ceremony where we got sworn in, did our Oath, and then sang the Canadian National Anthem as real Canadian Citizens for the first time.
Once the excitement of the ceremony cooled down we headed out to lunch. When I was there I made a phone call to the photographer that we were planning to do our passport photos and I heard her answer her phone behind me – welcome to small-town Saskatchewan. I turned around in the restaurant and scheduled with her to get our passport photos done so we could now get Canadian Passports. We did our photos and then headed to Ituna to get our renters kicked out of the house so the new owners could take possession. Dianne stayed at the hotel and watched the little kids for us, while Garry and the boys joined me to get this Ituna house taken care of for the last time. This house has been nothing but a headache for the past 2 years and I would be lying if I didn’t say this was one of the greatest days of the year when I was able to shut off our bad renter’s water.
We rolled into Ituna, went to the town office, and before we could get to our house the town guys were already there just as excited to shut the renter’s water off as we were. See with the pandemic it made it hard to deal with renters not paying rent and made it even hard to evict renters, let alone being in another country for the past 6 months. Our renters thought paying rent and utilities was an option and they chose not to pay them which made it miserable for everyone involved. When I showed up at the house to let them know they had an immediate eviction notice they couldn’t believe that if you don’t pay your bills you couldn’t live somewhere. I mean we did send them numerous notices via mail, email, and text letting them know if it wasn’t paid they would be evicted but, I guess they didn’t think it was very important to pay. Although technically by law I could have changed the locks then, I’m a nice person so I told them I would give them till the next day to get everything moved out. The best part of all this is my really good friend Elsie stopped by for a visit while I was waiting for everything to get done. Elsie was the best part of living in Ituna, I would have never had this lifelong sisterhood if I didn’t take this pitstop in Ituna. And yes I never want to be a landlord again but, this house has brought me full circle in my Candian journey.
After we got everything settled at the house we headed back to Melville for supper with Garry and Dianne. We called it an early night as everyone was tired from all the day’s activities. The next morning Elsie came for a visit at the hotel while we had breakfast and the kids did school in the hotel lobby. These are the moments that make me so happy in my life when I get to spend time with real friends and connect. Elise was my support system in Ituna, we did coffee, baking, and gardening together. We both grew and become better people when we met each other and to this day I know I can call Elsie and she will be there if I need her and I will be there for her if she ever needs me. I only have a few of these really true friends in my life and I cherish every single one of you. Thank you Elsie for spending time with me and taking time from your busy schedule it really meant a lot to me. And one day we will do Vegas or Nashville for sure!!!
Brenda(Kevin’s Sister), Jeff(Brenda’s boyfriend), and Elsie (Kevin’s Mom) drove from Regina to have coffee with us at nonother than Tim Horton’s. The kids and I went to the local florist before we met them and got Grandma Elsie a plant to take home and remember us by. We got to spend a couple of hours with Uncle Jeff, Aunt Brenda, and Grandma Elsie. It was really good getting caught up and chatting. I’m really blessed that Kevin’s family has always been so loving and taking me in as one of their own. I love that my kids get to see and visit all this family and know that is really what is important in life. I know we don’t get to see them as much as we would like to but every moment we get together is worth it.
After our visit with family, we headed back to Ituna to make sure the renters were fully moved out and the new owners could take possession. As I said Ituna holds a special place in my heart, it was a really rough transition living in such a small town not knowing anyone, but Kevin’s cousin Cyndi and Aunt Helen welcomed us with open arms. My heart did ache as Cyndi passed away in 2019 from cancer and I knew I wouldn’t be seeing her this trip but, her memories are always there. She made my time in Ituna the best it could have been. Aunt Helen is 96 this year and she was literally my best friend in Ituna. We did coffee dates and breakfast at her house many times a week. The boys helped her rake and clean up her yard and she would take them for chips at the bar uptown. Living a simple small-town life with a family that accepts you and loves you like their own is what small-town Saskatchewan is about and for this reason, I’ll never regret our home in Ituna. The renters weren’t ready for us when we got there so, we visited our old next-door neighbor Helen for a bit. Then headed to the senior home and spent time with Aunt Helen for a visit and catch up. Good thing she doesn’t have a computer because I’m sure she would kill me for posting pictures with her curlers in. If you want to meet the most genuine, sweetest, the kindest person here she is Helen Klimczak. I’ll never forget the day she walked 4 blocks all the way to my house in 2015 to meet her nephew’s wife that just moved to town. We had only lived in Ituna for a month or so but, that day she walked to my house was the beginning of our amazing friendship. I would do anything for this woman and I am so blessed to have been able to spend time with her on this trip.
We headed back to the hotel to get a good night’s sleep. Our plan was to head home the next day but of course, there was supposed to be another blizzard hitting the Estevan area and I didn’t think it was smart to travel with the kids through that. Garry and Dianne were kind enough to invite us to their house for a few days while the weather passed. We would have breakfast in the morning, then head to Ituna to give the keys to the new owner after that we would drive to Colonsay where we would stay a few days before heading back home to Iowa.
We stopped in Wynard for supper on the way to Colonsay. Once we got to Garry and Dianne’s house we all got settled in for the night. We were really excited to spend some extra time with Grandma and Grandpa and Ruth was going to be able to come to see us as well. We had planned to see Kevin’s sister Holly too but she wasn’t feeling 100% so we will have to try and catch up later this year hopefully in Las Vegas. With the stress of our Ituna house over and that house sold, I could now relax but, on the way to Colonsay I got a call from our realtor in Hinton and we got an offer on that house too! Which was great except we had a renter we were just about to sign another 1-year lease with. Kevin and I had to figure out what the best thing to do was with that house now too. While I’m writing this blog I can say we now have sold all our Canadian houses and I think this period of time and everything that we did is a blur as it all happened so fast.
We spent the next few days just enjoying time with Garry and Dianne. John loved the following grandpa wherever he went and wanted to help him no matter what he did. The kids enjoyed some time outside although it was still a bit cold and windy. Dianne cooked us amazing meals and we had an awesome conversation. Ruth came out for supper one night and we got to spend time playing games and catching up. Just 2 days of family time before heading back home.
On the morning of the 25th we headed to Saskatoon as I had to pick up some legal paperwork at the court then we drove to Minot for the night. We had an awesome meal at EbeneeZer’s Eatery and Irish Pub before check-in to the hotel for the night. It was a long day and I was exhausted! The next day we would finish our drive back home to complete our journey to Canada and get our citizenship!
Our journey was 2,761 miles (4,417 KM) round trip which included 2 countries, 1 province, and 4 states. I couldn’t tell you what that equals in coffees but it was a lot! Hope you have enjoyed reading about this journey so far and can’t wait to share more of our adventures.
