Reasons for Going to England #3--Getting Our Stuff Back

The past month has been very busy with preparations for the move to England. I put a ridiculous amount of effort into getting the visas from the British Embassy in New York City, caused by miscommunications and changes in procedures. And lost biometric data. That's a story for another post, though.

Today, we look at another reason we can't wait to get to England, viz. to get our stuff back. The movers came this Monday to pack up what's going to England by the inexpensive and slow method known as a cargo ship. We won't see our things again until mid to late July. Another set of movers will come next Monday to put the rest of our stuff (except what we take on the plane) in storage. So the house is not completely empty, but about three-quarters empty.

okay, maybe more like four-fifths

To make things run more smoothly, my wife took the children to my sister's house in West Virginia after Sunday Mass. They had a good time out there while I unplugged all the electrical equipment (including  the DVD player, surround sound system, game consoles, antennae, etc., plugged into the TV) and got other stuff ready for the movers. On the way back Monday night, Mommy talked to them a lot about how our stuff would be on it's way to England and we'd see it again once we'd moved. The children were quite attentive to this and seemingly accepting.

Then they got home and walked in the house.

The garage hall bench was missing. Jacob and Lucy said, "Uh-oh, where can we put our shoes?" They came into the family room and saw all that you see in the picture above. "Uh-oh, our toys are gone to England!!" The kitchen drew this response: "No table! We can't eat any more!" My wife hustled them off to bath time to get them ready for bed.

Then came the coup de grace for Jacob's acceptance. Jacob asked, "Did they take Wario?" Jacob has become quite interested in and proficient at playing WarioWare: Smooth Moves on the Wii and has been playing it every day for a week. When Angie said that it was shipped to England, then he broke down in hysterical sobs. "NNNNNOOOOO!!! NOT WARIO!! NNNOOO! I WANT TO PLAY!! NNNNOOOO!!" It was a long while before he calmed down.

Things were better in the morning. Angie and I brought up the spare table from the basement so we could eat breakfast, along with some toys and the library books we had hidden away (can you imagine the late fee if they'd been packed away for England!?! NNNOOO!!!). Jacob and Lucy perked up a bit. Children are a lot more resilient than we give them credit for.

We are definitely looking forward to getting our stuff back in England. And playing Wario on the Wii.