It is nice to be home!

You know that feeling that occurs when everything seems like it is all planned out and confirmed but some little part of your instinct nags at the back of your brain, in some vain attempt at warning against the complacency you have allowed yourself to settle into?


Well, I have come to believe that every good moving story must begin with the following dialogue:


Me: “Hello. I’m here to pick up a moving truck”
Guy: blank stare
Me: (helpfully offering) “I have a confirmation number”
Guy: “You’re here to pick up… a truck?”
Me: looking around to see if I am somehow not at a U Haul outlet, “Yes”
Guy: “We don’t have a truck”
Me: (hopefully, insistent) “I have a confirmation number”
Guy: “That doesn’t mean anything to me”


Well see, it was pretty early in the morning that day, on a Sunday no less, and I hadn’t yet had my coffee. I had been packing and cleaning for days and there was no way I was leaving this U Haul outlet without a truck to get all our stuff to Edmonton. I was done with Calgary nonsense, I had places to be. So my darling friend Cathy and I pulled a good cop / bad cop routine on the guy (damn she is a great bad cop) and before he knew what had hit him I was driving out of the parking lot with a 26 foot U Haul truck for less then the price of the 17 foot I had originally “confirmed”. (Note to all movers: “confirmation” doesn’t mean to U Haul what it means to you…)



So like I said, all good moving stories start out with some sort of laughing matter. I think it is the law of moving. A teensy bit behind schedule, I finally got this (diesel sucking, manual shifting monstrosity) truck home, and we (thanks to friends) had all of our worldly possessions packed into Pig (as it lovingly became known) and ready for the road before 12:00. It was actually better to have a big truck, as it was easier to pack everything in, not having to be so precise to preserve space. I love the way everything works out in the end.


When we went to pick the kids up from their Dads house, my ex came out and helped us plot a route into Airdrie that would have us avoid the road side scales – with the truck being so huge we would have had to have submitted to the scales, and with the way we packed I was sure our load would be deemed unbalanced (and there was no way I was repacking that thing). So we took his advice (Thanks Mark! Thanks for not being a crazy Ex!) and avoided what we later learned was three hour line up at the scales. In Airdrie we met up again with Cathy and Dan (who came to Edmonton to help us unpack – what lovely and entirely incredible friends we have!) who took Raven in their car, leaving myself, Duncan, Wes and an unimpressed cat in the cab of Pig.


To make a long story short (and bygods it was a long story) it took Pig 5 (expletitve deleted) hours to drive to Edmonton. We were passed by motor homes driven by people three times my age even. Our moment of excitement and glory came when we actually passed one vehicle… (there must have been something wrong with it) - Much whooping and hollering ensued with that event!


It didn’t take us long to unpack the truck once here, and although Cathy and Dan couldn’t stay long enough to enjoy it, I can say it has certainly turned into our new home. I was really happy when I saw it, the walls are a gorgeous beige color, and all the trimmings are white. The kitchen is beautiful, we have two bathrooms and a dishwasher, and both the basement and front (fenced) yard are huge. The only thing that broke the whole time was some wine glasses, and all in all, I can say the move went perfectly! It is nice to be home.



The kids started school, which is right next door to where we live, and they are enjoying it. We got Wes registered for Hockey and Raven will be doing Gymnastics instead of Ballet. The transit system where we live is great – so many bus routes. We live very close to West Edmonton Mall, and the only thing we haven’t found close yet is a major food store. Things have worked out wonderfully!


I am enjoying my Edmonton friends, and looking forward to making new friends, but I am missing my Calgary friends (as you all know). I can’t wait to see everyone who are planning trips up here this month. I am so excited!