We have been in Toronto for almost two weeks and I am just now starting to get into a groove. The boys are settled into their routine and that means I have some time again to write in the afternoon. I was thinking to myself that our move from Halifax to Toronto went pretty smooth, but there were some great stories to share.
So that is what I will be doing over the next little while. Catching you up on the whole move, the packing, the road trip, how the boys did and of course how we are fitting in back in Toronto.
The first story I need to share was almost a horrible situation (mostly for me) and it occurred before we even started the drive.
We needed to pack up our house for movers on the 13th. They were coming early, so we had to be ready. For two days Katie and I were going non stop. Tired, hot, annoyed, stressed and 27 other feelings. It was a big job and it never seemed like we were getting anywhere.
Katie had a helpful plan of attack for packing. It was pretty simple. There were three piles.
- Going on the truck and into storage.
- Going on the truck and then to where we were staying.
- Going in the car because we needed it every day.
Simple right?
Well it was until my brain got really, really tired.
To help clean out the house and purge for the move, we hit up Value Village several times. Toys, clothes, odd household stuff and books all went. They cleaned up on our massive purge. It felt great.
Load up the car, drive over and problem solved. They took pretty much anything.
Side note: They won’t take anything that supports the weight of a child.
So on the day of the movers coming, we had four suitcases all packed for the car. But they were in the way and possibly could get grabbed by the movers.
So we were smart. We put them in the car to take over to the hotel we would stay at later that night.
The boys were in daycare this whole time and we were not planning on staying in an empty house, so the hotel was a good call.
Suitcases in. It was going great.
While I was doing yard work, Katie went to check into the hotel and drop off the suitcases. We needed the room in the car for another run to Value Village.
The plan was three of the suitcases were needed in the hotel and one would stay in the car.
To add more to the story, one of the suitcases was strictly my wife’s work clothes because she was starting a new job on the day after Victoria Day and she did not trust them going on the truck. Again, smart move. She needed those suits, shoes and blouses for the full week.
Back to the story.
After the movers were gone, we still had a large Value Village pile for one last trip. Value Village was not far from the kid’s daycare so it made sense to pack up the car to make one trip. Stuff going to Value Village and the one suitcase that was left in the car.
Anyone see where this is going yet?
So we are dog tired, stressed about getting it all done and it’s already time to get the boys.
We left, went to Value Village, unloaded and went to get the boys. We never really paid attention to what happened. The kid took the stuff out of the car, we left.
What happened next…..
Well…
- took kids to say goodbye to house
- dinner out
- back to hotel
- I went to clean up house
- boys played
- I went back, slept
- We all slept and got up early
- Time to pack up car
I went to pack the car and wondered where the one suitcase was. Maybe Katie took all four in?
Well she didn’t. We looked at each other, traced our steps and both realized at the same time what happened.
Value Village.
Yep, the suitcase full of suits was dropped off at Value Village.
It was an hour before we wanted to hit the road for Ontario and we were missing a very important piece of luggage.
I was pretty darn stressed and scared. Katie needed a moment to take it all in. It was panic time.
The suits could already be on the floor and being bought.
I felt pretty bad.
It was not even 9 am yet, so we could not call the store.
My only reaction was to just go there. I drove over as fast as I could and waited until 9am.
Once open, I found someone where stuff is dropped off and explained the whole story.
They looked around and did not see anything. They kept saying it would still be as is and sitting somewhere. That gave me hope.
They came back and said they did not see it and I could give them a number to call and if they see it, they would let me know.
Then I amped up the moment letting them know we were about ready to leave the province and also, I was in big trouble if this did not get fixed.
They must have taken pity on me. They looked harder and dragged out all the racks they had.
Then I saw it. On the very bottom corner was the suitcase.
I was pretty fricken excited. Then I had doubt it was it.
It was opened up and I was never more happy to see women’s shoes and pants suits.
I had it. I texted Katie. We were back on track.
It was an insane morning. All that was left was saying goodbye to a house, city, province and a life.
Stay tuned for more stories. None were as scary as this one.
