The joy on Kay Mercer's best day could no longer be contained.Posting off my family's citizenship applications, I find myself close to the end of quite a journey for someone who doesn't like to travel.
We arrived in New Zealand eight years ago with two small boys and a lunchbox filled with Lego.
As we touched down at Christchurch Airport I had to be restrained from kissing the tarmac.
My husband is easily embarrassed.
The 20 cubic foot container we had hired to transport our worldly goods followed slowly behind us by ship, and all we had to our names was each other, some suitcases.
And the Lego.
But we were happy.
After a 26-hour flight, with just a brief stop at Changi to admire the big goldfish, it was a relief to finally arrive in this new country, 18,000km from the family we left behind on the east coast of England.
We hurriedly bought a second-hand car, headed off south to Dunedin, and spent our early New Zealand life finding somewhere to live, working out when the rubbish is collected and, of course, joining the library.
Some two months later, we were settled in our first New Zealand house, a lovely rented villa in a quiet corner of Mosgiel.
Still living out of suitcases, my little family longed to feel at home, but the ship carrying our much-missed belongings was still somewhere out at sea.
There is only so much you can build with a sandwich-sized set of Lego.
When the call eventually came from the removals company, however, it brought mixed emotions.
Our container had arrived in New Zealand but was detained at Lyttelton harbour pending fumigation by the authorities.
Who knew that a fake Christmas tree would have real pine cones stuck on it?
Further waiting ensued while said pine cones were summarily destroyed, before our container was finally free.
By then, we were heartily sick of the three outfits we'd been wearing for the previous 12 weeks, our young Lego builders had exhausted all architectural possibilities, and the prospect of seeing familiar things from the old country was like anticipating all our Christmases at once.
A quarter of a year had passed and we had quite forgotten what our 20 cubic foot container actually contained.
Nineteen and a-half cubic feet of toys, it transpired.
And everything needed to make a house a home.
The best day ever!
• Kay Mercer is events co-ordinator at Dunedin Public Libraries.
Your best day
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