The UAB that nearly missed

 the boat (or plane, as the case may be).  I probably need not even mention it, as it is so widely known that one receives 250 lbs of unaccompanied baggage when heading overseas.  In cases of an unaccompanied tour such as Peter's, that is all one receives.  Nothing more, other than what one can purchase at post or ship in, but nearly a lot less for him.

Peter is a planner and has checklist after checklist after checklist for this move.  He has been on top of everything, calling, verifying, re-verifying, calling again, and checking email at all hours of the day.  Well, in nearly all respects.  The one area that lost a wee bit of his attention was the UAB.  My guess?  He wasn't even sure it was going to be necessary since he can take a whopping 70 lbs of belongings with him to post on Tuesday.  

If you know Peter, you know he is the definition of a minimalist, especially when it comes to travel. He is organized and efficient and takes the least amount of stuff possible.  In fact, we wondered if he would come remotely close to the 70 lb limit, much less have anything left over for air freight.  So much so that he considered canceling the UAB shipment entirely, figuring that he could (rightly so) purchase most of what he needs at post.

Now I am the opposite.  Not necessarily disorganized, but when I travel, I enjoy having a few creature comforts.  When I move overseas, I like to have a few 'favorites' with me, maybe a bag of coffee or  a favorite brand of toothpaste.  I finally managed to convince him that it might not be a bad idea to take a few items, whether it be a few treasured (but easily replaced) books or his brand of laundry detergent.  The response?  "Fine, fine, fine…".

Two weeks ago, he put in the shipment request and waited to hear back.  Meanwhile, time was flying.  He had consultations from the day we returned from vacation, and all the while patiently waited to hear about the UAB.  Nothing.  Finally it's Thursday night of last week and it occurs to him that not only did he request the pick-up for Friday morning, but that he never heard back from anyone. No messages on anyone's phone and not a single email.  One might think this means that the movers won't show.  Um, not so much.

Friday morning came bright and early as did our appointment with Cait's school.  We submitted her registration paperwork, and enjoyed a family breakfast out.  I was looking forward to an entire day of unfettered unpacking and organizing…until we pulled up to the house and found a moving van out front and three not so happy movers inside.  Commence three hours of phone calls, hair pulling, fears of no UAB shipment and (worse) fears of double payment for one UAB shipment. 

Unpacking?  Not that afternoon.  

Peter finally tracked down the right person, and it all boiled down to a technical error.  Really no one's fault, but wasn't something we really had time to deal with.  I suppose had we learned of the error Thursday night, we might have been able to throw something together.  However, given that there was no evidence the company was going to show, there didn't seem to be any reason to worry.  Nor could anything be done at the last minute:  his books were still packed, he hadn't had a chance to shop, and there was little, if any, packing space due to the unpacking that was still going on.

 In the end, it was rescheduled for yesterday.  No one really ended up at fault, and more importantly, no one (read: us) was charged any extra fees.  We had time to unpack his books, find a few videos, throw in a jacket or two, buy a new suit, and stock up on those favorites.  The movers showed up not only on time, but early, were finished prepping prior to the departure for nature camp and had departed the house by 9:30 a.m.   

It all worked out and the shipment is on the way.  The moving company is happy, we are happy, and no one is worse for the wear.  And, never, ever again will this household assume that no phone call (or email…or text…or tweet) means no movers…