Patience is defined as the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset. I have always struggled with patience, but I'm trying to be better, honestly. This week tested me for sure.
After writing to check on the whereabouts of our household goods, I've found they are still in the United States. We were originally told they were at the port in Seattle waiting for a ship. Then, later, we were told they were being transported to the East Coast to sail from there. Whatever gets it to us sooner, right? They told us it would be leaving on the 14th and would be in port on the 27th of this month! However, on the 14th, we received another message which stated, they missed the drop off for our goods. {Sigh} It is now set to leave tomorrow (fingers crossed!) and we should have our things in port on August 3rd. From there, it will be about two weeks until we have them in our home. Living in hotels for a short time isn't too bad. Living in a house with only a very well-worn 3-person couch, sharing a lumpy double bed with your spouse when it's in the heat of summer, and having an incomplete set of loaner kitchen items to make meals with gets old after a while. After almost 8 weeks, I'm sooooo ready for my own things and to be able to have guests over.
Liam had his first visit with the Orthopedic Specialist. I didn't realize our appointment would be in the local hospital. When we arrived, it was different than the hospitals in the U.S. No decoration, just white walls with information papers taped up. People were lined up everywhere. Because I don't read French (yet), I stood in the wrong line the first time. I decided to ask at the information desk if I was in the right place. They didn't speak English, but they got someone who did to help me, and she explained that I was in the wrong line and to take a number from another section. As soon as I did, she called me up, stating she would help me because she was the only one there who spoke English. She checked us in and directed us to go to the first floor. The floor you enter on here is always the main floor, and what we are used to as the second floor is their 1st floor. When we got to the second floor, we couldn't read the signs, except for the one that stated orthopedie, so we knew we were in the right place. There was no check-in desk, only a full waiting area, so we sat in a corner area of the waiting room around the corner. I was worried that we would hear our name called. Our appointment was at 11:20, and we watched others being called back. Each time we moved in the waiting room to get better seats, so as not to be missed. After an hour, everyone in the waiting room, including a couple that came after us, had been called, and we were sitting there alone. After an hour and a half, I saw one of the doctors walk by and I got his attention. I showed him our appointment timecard, and he said it was his colleague that our appointment was with, and to wait for him. Shortly after this, the room started filling up again. After 1.5 hours, the doctor I spoke to earlier came back and I asked again, telling him it had been two hours. He went to his colleague's office, but he wasn't there. He checked with the nurse, and she said he had already left but would be back sometime, and she would let him know we were waiting. He FINALLY arrived, two hours past our appointment. I could hear him talking loudly to the nurse, but couldn't understand why he was upset. He called us back and started rudely telling us that he had called us MULTIPLE times and we were nowhere to be found. I told him we were right there in the waiting room. He said in a rude tone that it was untrue and impossible! I almost left the room right then, but Arturo was being very patient. I showed him our paper from when we checked in (11:23), and he showed me his paper for our appointment at 10:30. I then showed our approval letter for our appointment, which was written for 11:20. He said someone made a mistake, and his tone improved greatly after this. He took his time examining Liam and said that unless we have any issues or need a new prosthetic, he didn't need to see us back but once a year. We were all so hungry by this time, and I definitely needed a Snickers for my attitude after all that. HA! I didn't get a Snickers, but found a really good pastry shop this week. 
We did have some good timing news this week. Our second car is set to arrive at the port for us to pick up next weekend! Our car left Washington at the same time as our HHG household goods. For reference, it was shipped with another company than our HHG, and was shipped out of the port of Gavelston, TX, so a quick shipment IS possible with the right company.
I've had my same phone number for about 20 years, so having a U.S. SIM card for our phones plus a European one sounded like a good plan. I kept my U.S. number and was able to get a Belgian phone number. It ended up not working as smoothly as we hoped, and we were forever getting them mixed up when making calls or texts. When we saw our mistakes cost us $300.00 our first month, we had to make a change. Keeping my U.S. number was mainly for my Mom to reach me easily, but since that isn't necessary any longer, we got rid of our U.S. numbers altogether. You can still reach me via FB messenger or WhatsApp calls.
So, to recap: My patience has been tested, and is showing signs of improvement. 😉You can get in contact with me via Facebook or WhatsApp, and I always respond. Our second car should be here by next weekend at this time, which is perfect for any guests, whom we can start welcoming, starting in September. 😊 Oh, and Nutella-filled doughnuts are Amazing!
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