A little more “ours”

The big day started at Jack Johnston’s (not to be confused with Jack Johnson: the surfer/ singer songwriter who, by the way, we hope to invite to our wedding along with Mr Paul Simon!). We rented a van from Johnston’s garage and had a detailed plan drawn up for the day. I was pleased to see that this garage was seriously certified. The owner’s name seemed to be differently spelled on every certificate but they were all neatly framed and hung for all to see and admire. As the day wore on we noticed certificates all over the place. This is a country where it helps to be certified.

The (certified) local shipping agent in Toronto gave us two copies of a form and a map which showed us how to get to the next stop. In return we had to give him a check. Why exactly did we pay him? As far as I could tell this man had never seen our shipment and apart from moving some papers from his in- to his outbox, I don’t think he had very much to do with it at all! But never mind. We were grateful for his directions as we found ourselves driving around looking for Customs. The offices seemed to be located on the airport runway. Are you sure we’re allowed to be driving here?!

At customs we were assisted by a man with lots of labels on his dark blue uniform. We both went looking for his name tag but only found a number: 271993. He was calm, collected, and was sure to inform us of all the latest developments as he was processing our papers. There were questions, prepared and unprepared answers, suspense and relief. He found our story convincing, stamped stamps in the designated areas on the necessary forms and eventually we left the building as proud owners of the form we needed. Do you think it’s possible to send flowers to a number? By this time our tummies were grumbling but we felt the need to press onwards. Here’s some water and a granola bar… persevere! It was a lot like a treasure hunt really.

From customs to warehouse was another 20min drive, a wrong door, a short wait. Ah, the chests: one big one, two small ones and a number of boxes. We were reunited again!

Our adventure continued as we drove across the province to pick up a table and chairs, inherited from Stephe’s grandpa. We passed through beautiful, wintery countryside and explored a wide range of radio stations. Carrying everything up the stairs and fitting it all into the apartment was the last major challenge of the day. How blessed we are with all these things! How nice it is to be “mixing belongings”.

And so everyday becomes a little less “yours and mine” and a little more “ours”.