Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Taking the Good with the Bad


Happy New Year! We had a wonderful time ringing in the new year with my parents, who came down to spend the holiday with us, and then visited for about a week. It was so fun to share our new home and new neighbourhood with Mom and Dad, and they were happy to see for themselves where we've landed. Mainly, we enjoyed trips to Wegmans (Dad's favourite) and Kohl's (Mom's favourite), cooked some lovely meals, played Euchre and Yahtzee, and just enjoyed each others company. [Note: Spell checker is telling me I am spelling "neighbourhood" and "favourite" incorrectly. I suppose at this point I should just switch to the American spellings, but it feels SO WRONG.]

Huz began work (YAY!) on January 2. That was his official start date, so he dutifully went into work on that day, only to find that he was pretty much the only one there. So really, he started work on January 5. Its been lots of forms, online modules and the like to begin, but he is incredibly excited to be where he is, and this is an incredible opportunity for him and for our family.

Since the post-move euphoria and holiday euphoria have worn off and Mom and Dad left, I've been a little blue. While I'm enjoying my alone time with the girls and love our little home, I've had moments of feeling overwhelmed and so incredibly frustrated by all the ridiculous crap that needs to happen when you move, particularly to another country. EVERYTHING costs money (Need a letter from GM to say your van meets US standards in order to import car? Costs $120. Need to get your medical records sent to a doctor down here? Costs $50. Need to get all your credentials verified to work as a nurse in US? Costs about $1000+. Need to activate your gas and electric? Costs an extra $200 because you have no US credit history.), EVERYTHING requires some silly form to be filled out, its IMPOSSIBLE to talk to a real live person about things (so you go in person to try and make something happen, only you're missing something, and the customer service person's snooty response is: "Well ma'am, its all on our website." Nuts to you! Your website is confusing and impossible to navigate, you disgruntled public servant!!!), and NOTHING is straightforward or simple. 

For example, I have tried four times to get my driver's license, without success. FOUR. The first time, I went on a Monday morning--after having checked the hours of operation of the downtown DMV online--only to discover that they don't "do licenses" on Mondays. So I went back with Huz and the girls the next day, and the office was bursting at the seams with people and I was quoted a 4 hour wait time. So we left. Later that day, I went to another DMV out in the burbs with Honey Bee and waited 2 hours, but apparently I was missing something they needed because of the type of visa we're on. So we all went again on Saturday to try again, all necessary documents in hand, and Huz was able to get his (on his first try, no less), but I was told that "they" ("Who's 'they'?" I asked. To which I got no reasonable answer) were unable to verify my identity on the computer. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?! So now "they" will send all my "information" to "Harrisburg" and then I'll receive a letter in the mail in about a month, after which point I am able to try again. 


(gifs make my old rickety laptop so sad and slow. . .)

I spend the better part of Mouse's naptime each day on the phone, trying to figure out some ridiculous thing or another (car insurance, international banking, health insurance, etc, etc, etc):


Today, I even cried on the phone to two different people out of desperation/frustration:


But I've been trying to pull my head out of the rabbit hole and focus on the good. Here are some small, but joyful moments:

Cuddling with Dog

Having a ball at "the happy place," which is what Honey Bee calls the playgym/coffee shop we've been frequenting

Mouse not feeling well. I'm always so sorry for them when they're not feeling well, but I always enjoy the extra snuggles.

Sometimes when we check on the girls before we go to bed, we find them like this in Mouse's playpen. And then my heart explodes.

Riding the vacuum.

I've joined a mom's group here and went to a party they hosted last week. They seemed like a really friendly group and were very welcoming. They have a monthly book club, which I am going to attend this week, and they're also setting me and the girls up in a regular play group, which will be so great. I am anxious for Honey Bee to make some new friends and to make some new friends myself!

In these early weeks, I am also grateful for American Netflix (we are currently binge watching Sons of Anarchy), this thingie that Huz set up on Skype so that you can call Canada like its a phone but its over Skype (clearly, I was not the brains of that particular operation, since I can't even clearly articulate what it is. . .), and Songza living room dance parties. 



2 comments:

Unknown said...

❤️💕❤️One day at a time, Motherhood is a huge job, you are the sweetest Mom, enjoy these moments with the girls, everything will fall into place! Drivers licence or not! What a nightmare!

kate said...

Thanks for the update mommy.
Hugs to you especially for the blue spots. Kate