My dad picked a good week for a visit - I really needed his support. Here, Sophie and Grandpa enjoy the swings at Thames Park
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Two beautiful girls at a very fun birthday party for Sophie's classmate Elijah. Wasn't the face (and body) painting wonderful?
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My Dad, Grandmother, and Sophie during a weekend visit to Wallaceburg
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I have had a difficult enough week that I can't even really write this entry... so I'm going to share an email I sent to a friend earlier this week instead. You'll get the picture.
I've had a rough day. A super shitty day actually... while I was at the park with Sophie and our friend Kenzie this afternoon someone broke into our trunk and stole our stuff. We had been at swimming lessons and had a picnic lunch, and after lunch I decided to take our things back to the car so I wouldn't have to keep my eye on them while the girls were playing. The irony is that I was worried someone would grab them if I got dragged to the far side of the park by Sophie wanting to be pushed on a swing or something. Someone popped the trunk open and scooped the whole lot of it out - they took Sophie's backpack, Kenzie's swim bag, and our cooler bag. I had my wallet in the front pouch of the backpack so it's gone, as is my digital camera, and my prescription glasses. I've spent most of the afternoon filling out a police report, calling banks and government agencies, and I'm doing the whole damned thing wearing my sunglasses since they're the only thing I can see with. I called the place I ordered my last pair of glasses from and they refused to even consider making me a new pair because it's been too long since I've had my eyes checked... so I have to wait to hear back from my Optometrist about getting an appointment (which I have to PAY for since OHIP doesn't cover it) before I can get a new prescription and then PAY another arm and leg to get new glasses. And PAY to purchase a new digital camera when I can afford one. And PAY to replace all my ID (ex. $35 for a birth certificate, $10 for a SIN, $20 for a Driver's Licence), which I have to somehow figure out how to produce ID for - since they all want two pieces of ID to prove I'm me before they'll reissue the ID. Which has all been stolen. Chicken? Egg? Oh, and they're happy to help me by charging my credit card for those fees so I can conveniently take advantage of their online request systems, but WAIT... all my charge cards have been held because they were stolen too! I'm going to loose my mind!!! I've alternated between crying and being furious most of the afternoon, when I haven't been filling out the police report (online again - because a car break-in isn't serious enough for a police officer attends in person) - although sometimes even the police report beat me up because it kept timing out on me as I had to stop working on it to do things like drop Sophie off at the library - and I would loose all my work and have to start again from scratch (no "save" button... not sure why...?) I want to scream. And then cry some more. And seriously... they stole the kids BATHING SUITS??? And our leftover LUNCH??? Aaaaaaaarrrrrrgggghhhhh!!!!!!!
As you can tell, I was completely shaken by the theft, and frustrated by the resulting work and cost. Enough time has passed now that I can recognize several "silver linings":
- While I don't understand how they got into the trunk, I know it wasn't by breaking a window or punching out a lock, which would have resulted in us not being able to use the car for a while and having to pay a larger repair bill - it's a mystery, but one I'm thankful for.
- While the culprits did manage to use my credit card before I could call the bank to report the theft (they moved fast - I was on the phone within an hour of discovering it), it wasn't for too much and the bank has assured me I'm not liable. Whew.
- It was a break-in, not a car-jacking or a mugging. No one got hurt, and especially since I had children with me I'm very, very grateful.
- My family & friends were very supportive. In addition to several sympathetic emails and phone calls, my mom stepped in and sent money for my Optometrists appointment, my dad and girlfriend Tiffany helped me get a new camera, and my dad also acted as a loan officer so I could buy a very good-quality pair of prescription glasses, instead of the cheep-as-I-can-possibly-find version I was actually going to get. I'm very lucky.
We rounded out this difficult week with a welcome influx of family. In addition to my Dad being in town from Montreal we went to Wallaceburg to see Grandma, then met my Uncle Ray and Aunt Mame for dinner and a visit - they live in Edmonton so we see them very rarely. When the going gets tough it's nice to find yourself surrounded by family, that's for sure...
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Although it sounds like Tiffany is MY girlfriend and not yours, this is a good account of what happened. Perhaps if you had room you could have added that you went to 3 places to get glasses before a long weekend and the last one, LensCrafters, were the only ones that could do it in an hour... and they were less money! Another lucky thing.
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