I moved from Halifax to Hantsport, Nova Scotia on August 22, 2012. It was an extremely frustrating day but thanks to God, it all worked out in the end. Moving is one of those situations in life that tests the character of the people we know, although they would never admit it. Sometimes stuff happens that we have no control over, though. I had one friend who said he was going to come over and that I didn’t need to worry about it, but he didn’t tell me that it depended on his work schedule and when the time came, he had to tell me he couldn’t make it. This was understandable, although I wish he’d told me before. Still, it occurred to me that if he had told me that before, I would have stressed about not having another person to help so maybe that part worked out for the best! I appreciate the fact that he was very willing to help. He’s a nice guy.
Another nice guy I know also helped me last year. He had been supposed to help me the day before but his brother got him to do some stuff at the last minute so unfortunately he wasn’t able to help me. But the next day I still had stuff to move and to throw out, and he was a huge help with that. This year, a friend of ours who was supposed to join him bailed at the last minute, with no word to me that he wasn’t coming. It really, really threw me for a loop and made the move a lot more inconvenient and awful. Because the other guy cancelled, my friend called around for someone to help him because he didn’t think 2 guys were enough (I had a guy driving the Uhaul truck). He couldn’t find someone, so by the time we got there we were done because of this fantastic Indian guy who lived in my building was kind enough to help. He was a real trouper. At the last minute, without even knowing me (we had just seen each other and talked briefly one day on the street), he carried a lot of stuff for me. I appreciate him so much, as well as the other two friends I’ve already talked about. I really regret that I didn’t say a proper goodbye to this kind fellow, but everything was so chaotic and we had to get the truck back, so I didn’t have time to focus like I should have. And I don’t know this person’s name, so I have no way of writing to thank him. I hope I come across him someday. There are so few genuinely kind people in the world that when we do come across them, we should make sure they know how much we appreciate them. That is my mistake and I hope I do better in that area in the future, because I really feel that it is important. Anyway, even though my friend arrived after everything was done, he was still an enormous help because we had a big Uhaul truck (or Discount?) and it was a 16-footer, so therefore pretty huge. My friend who was driving the truck had a bit of trouble navigating because my parking lot was a rather confined area, but my friend really helped, directing my friend where to turn, when he was safe, etc. So I had 3 people who helped. The guy who drove did a huge amount of lifting and carrying. Between the Indian guy and him, and especially him, they accomplished a huge amount. I would have been in trouble without them, for sure.
Another guy also helped me last year. But this year, things didn’t work out so well. He couldn’t make it, but I didn’t know that before the time came. Because he wasn’t able to help, my mother and I had to do a lot of moving that we shouldn’t have had to do. I’ve talked to him since, and he thinks it is unfair of me to hold it against him, but to me, your word is your word. He said he was going to help; I was counting on him, and so he should have shown up. As you get older, you’re not as willing to cut people slack as you used to be. Sure, we should forgive and not judge, but we also need to protect ourselves. Moving is a huge undertaking, especially for women. If he had called or texted me beforehand to tell me he wasn’t coming, I could have tried to make other arrangements although at the last minute I don’t know what I could have done, or whom I could have contacted. But at least I’d have had some notice. He contacted me after I was home in Hantsport, but there wasn’t much point to that. I needed him before. Since moving is a big deal, I think he owed me at least a message directly to me. Then I could have explained to him that the stakes were kind of high for me. If the Indian guy hadn’t helped, I would not have been able to finish the move that day and that would have meant a lot of unnecessary expense, inconvenience and perhaps not even finishing the job at all, which would have been a nightmare. I think a lot of people’s in today’s society can be a bit careless. Because something isn’t important to them, they assume it’s not that important to others. What do you think? Do you think I’m being too harsh or do you think a person’s word is their word, and I have a right to be disappointed in him?
