It's hard to pinpoint which item did it. All I know is that your latest visit to Costco was one of your most romantic gestures to date. I'm seroiusl
You didn't buy the fancy stuff. You knew better, and left that job for me. You didn't buy anything fresh or perishable. After all these years, you knew this would totally piss me off. Thankfully you didn't buy huge vats of spices or mayonnaise. I would have gone crazy ape on you. Big time. You knew I had already spent hours sourcing the perfect vessels for our pantry, and how much I was looking forward to filling those said jars. By myself.
What you did buy was the heavy stuff. You dragged in all the things that I'd hate to schlep. And you did it without asking. You ran to Costco before it even opened and you loaded our car with it hundreds of dollars worth of stuff. The basics. Things that bore me to tears, like soap for the dishwasher. And the washing machine. And toilet cleaner. Spare me...
The gesture was sweet and delicious. Better than any five carat ring or fancy car. You were like an old world hunter, facing the wild and coming back to our home with the goods for our family.
And together, for the first time since our new home was built, we filled our sparkling pantry with all of these items. Although I'll end up reorganizing everything, perhaps time and time again, at that moment your work was seriously perfect and romantic.
Standing in our pantry together, planning out our shelf space and design, I could have cried. Who knew how exciting this could be? Perhaps not as fun as a trip to Paris, but strangely a close second. (What has become of me))))
As we unpacked our car I realized that together, this life we have made. One day at a time. Meal by meal, child by child, moment by moment. Lots of laughing. And even some crying. But it's been many years of togetherness. Countless trips to Costco to feed our seemingly always hungry kids.
Twenty eight years of friendship and it hasn't always been easy. There were months I wanted to run away. Months I wanted to be done. Weeks when I dreaded seeing you. And certainly days I wished us not to be so. And then all the resentment that came with living in Canada. I missed my family. I missed old friends. I mostly missed me.
But you've kept your word. After all these years. And now we are back in America. Four miles from my childhood home and a few more minutes into my favourite city. Though I miss the urban life, im happy. And I'm grateful.
I'm thrilled our kids have adjusted so well to this crazy transition. I'm over the moon to be so close to my sister and our family again. And most of all, I'm happy for our new home together.
This morning we will receive 20,000 pounds of stuff we do not need. Things we haven't seen since we packed that truck up this summer. Our belongings are en route from Toronto, and by noon they'll all be at our new door.
And like eating an elephant, we'll get through this one bite at a time.
We'll make the move in fun. I know the kids will have a blast. I'll serve pizza and ice cream and we will celebrate our new life. And I'll be all smiles tonight, grateful to have a pantry full of plastic recycling bags and all natural glass cleaner.
Can't wait for this next adventure to begin. Ps. Thank you also for my new car tires ;)
