As we ring in the New Year for 2021 the whole world unites with the wish of a safer place, rid of Covid 19 and an end to the pandemic!  It’s hard to imagine how innocently we came into  March 2020 and were all hit unexpectedly by the Covid pandemic.  As we played through January and February and went about our lives, no one knew what was coming, then bam, in March it hit!  In late February, early March we heard a bit of talk of it on the news but didn’t pay much attention.  Then after the first week of March we were literally hit in the face as our leaders started telling us to get home immediately if we were out of Canada and chaos started in the airports.  In February Mama and Papa were at Hilton Head Island where they’ve gone for the past eight years for a winter break and to celebrate their anniversary.  They arrived home March the 4th as scheduled with no issues at all as everything was still operating as usual.  God was looking after them because by March 7th airport chasos was in full swing.  We have friends who flew home from Florida the second week and barely made it, flying from airport to airport as they zig zagged across the country heading to New Brunswick.  Other friends waited too long until May and couldn’t fly so they had to drive home for the first time every but made it safely back to Saint John.  Mama explained that it is a deadly disease that could affect people but us fur babies had nothing to worry about.  Then Premier Higgs put us all in lockdown and Mama and Papa were home with us every day for months.  Mama was designated for grocery shopping and went to Sobey’s once a week.  She said there wasn’t a car on the road and driving through Rothesay made her feel like she was in the TV series ‘The Walking Dead’ where they’re the only ones driving along the deserted roads.  She was always wearing a mask when she went out which she said was difficult to breath in.  Things were different for us when we had our daily walk at Spyglass Hill.  Mama, Papa and the other parents would hold us all by the collars to keep us apart and none of us were allowed to sniff each other or play together.  Mama explained that this terrible disease could be caught through touching so if someone patted us they could leave the disease on our fur to spread through the next touch.  No one stopped to chat anymore and everyone stayed far apart as we passed on the trails.  Nicholas and I were happy to have Mama home all day and after a few months she started going out to show houses with new precautions in place for her and her clients as set out by the real estate board.  By June the market burst wide open as it seemed everybody here wanted to move into something different than what they had, larger with more space for everyone including extended family, larger yards for pets and children to play, more privacy, a home office or two, finished basements, school rooms etc.  Mama and Charlie hadn’t been so busy in years and it just kept going seven days a week throughout the summer.  Then fall hit and people from other provinces, especially Ontario, all wanted to live in New Brunswick, considered to be one of the safest places to live in the world!  Premier Higgs saved us when he put us all in lockdown in the spring and prevented the spread of the disease.  The Maritime provinces all did exceptionally well as other provinces stayed open and then things started to get out of control for them.  There were very strict regulations for them coming here and Mama and Charlie started showing homes through Facetime with live virtual tours.  Homes for sale are at a shortage here and demand is high, raising the prices to the highest we’ve ever had with more bidding wars than we’ve seen in history!

We all wonder as we go into New Year’s Eve of 2020,  what 2021 will bring.  Seems everything has changed.  We now have hope for a better tomorrow with the new vaccine recently arriving in our province as residents wait patiently for their turn.  2020 was a year no one will ever forget, so many lost family and friends and our hearts go out to them.  Papa lost his dear Uncle John and as the same with others there was no hospital visitation allowed and no funeral.  So very hard for the family.

Nicolas and I had a great thing happen this year with the addition of our new friend and colleague Sparky Turnbull.  He is so smart and so much fun, great companion for our Charlie who takes him everywhere!  Happy selling Sparky!

  Sparky Turnbull

So let’s hope for a future that is free of Covid 19, a future that is better, brighter and safer for 2021!!!  One where we can run and play with our furry friends, our parents can stop and chat and our world goes back to normal.  The new normal Mama calls it with a few changes that may stay with us forever.

Happy New Year!

Your pal,

Big Buddy Bacon