Before the pandemic, I traveled back to the US four times a year to visit my disabled sister, Sharon. While I was in the states, I packed barrels to ship home to Grenada.  I filled the barrels with everything and anything from medication to quality olive oil, plant pots, electronics, camera equipment, or clothing.  Items ran the complete gamut – anything we either can’t get in Grenada, is exorbitantly expensive here, or the quality is poor. (It seems many of the inferior goods that Americans won’t buy end up in developing countries.)

My wonderful friend, Diane, graciously allows me to send everything to her house about a week or two before I arrive. Then I drive to her home in Connecticut after visiting with my sister on Long Island. Diane and I go on a two-day shopping spree – to Trader Joe’s for $500 worth of nuts, berries, and sauces, home goods stores for sheets, towels, rugs, etc., and anything that I can’t buy from Amazon or other online retailers without seeing the product first.

Diane fills her extra bedroom to the ceiling with boxes (… and her porch, … and her shed). We spend a full day (or two!) unboxing everything to get rid of all the packing material and then repack the empty boxes, so I can drive everything to Brooklyn to ship via a freighter bound for Grenada. After the packing is competed, I grab a hotel room, dinner and then I fly back home from JFK airport early the next morning so there is always pressure for everything to go perfectly.  Fingers crossed, everything has worked well each time.  Back in Grenada, Michael is always shaking his head because he always adds extra time to deal with any potential problems.  This is the smart thing to do, but it would mean one less day to spend with Diane, so I just cross my fingers and run around like a crazy woman.

I organize everything according to how it will pack best in the barrels. All the soft things go together to either pad the barrel’s bottom or cushion delicate items. I group all the big stuff, so it is easy to see and ensure everything will fit in the barrels.  Then there’s all the small stuff – toothbrushes, soaps, batteries, etc. that slip down the sides and fill in small crevices.

I always rent a Chrysler Town and Country van (now called a Pacifica) because all the seats fold down into a flat floor – perfect for transporting a ton of things. I fill the car in sections – oversized heavy items in the back left, soft things in the back right, and then all the smaller items in front. I head off to Brooklyn around 9:00 AM, so I miss the Connecticut commuter traffic, and I arrive right around lunchtime.

My favorite shipper is Compass Shipping. It’s a Grenadian company, and I love hearing the familiar Caribbean accent as I arrive.  And, true to form, everyone is friendly and helpful.

Early on, I met Jimmy, the lead forklift operator, and packer. He’s consistently taken great care of me. I pull up with my overloaded car. He takes a glance and immediately decides how many barrels or boxes we’ll need based on the size and shape of the largest items. He’s never been wrong.  Within an hour to an hour and a half, we get everything unpacked – again – and fill the barrels. Jimmy is fast and meticulous, making sure anything liquid is standing upright, tops sealed with tape, secured so it wouldn’t fall over, and cushioned to avoid breakage. Jimmy has the touch – everything packed densely, no movement but not packed too tightly, so everything arrives in one piece, with nothing broken.

 

(One time when Compass was out of barrels, I went to a competitor, and the packer kept jamming things into the barrel with me repeatedly pleading to be more careful. All our Shout laundry cleaner containers split during shipping and covered the bottom of the barrel with liquid.  It was heartbreaking throwing away hundreds of dollars of food I’d just purchased because it was covered in soap. Not to mention the hours washing everything else. Lesson learned, stick with the pro!)

As with so much this year, COVID changed my travel plans.  I haven’t been back to the US since last February.  I planned to travel in May and then tentatively in September. In a normal year, I’d make one extended trip in November to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas with my sister.  Finally, it was apparent that I would not be traveling at all in 2020, but we were out of all our favorite US-based products and needed the everyday items we purchase from time to time.

Try to imagine if you could shop only four times a year.  Michael and I literally begin a new list as soon as the barrels arrive and then wait 4-5 months before getting the next shipment. It’s a lesson in planning and patience. There’s no running to the store to pick up that little item that will make whatever easier or nicer. Oh, I forgot to buy material to cover a cushion?  Guess that will wait until the next season!

When I determined I wasn’t going to get to the US this year, Diane, being the incredible friend she is, offered to 1) allow us to send another ton of boxes to her house, 2) do all the local shopping, like Trader Joes’, by herself, and 3) drive six-plus hours to and from Brooklyn, NY to deliver the goods and help pack barrels.

I call this extreme friendship.  Diane and I have been best friends for a long time.  We both have always said we would do anything for each other, and she passed this test with flying colors.

Diane is talking about moving to Tennessee, so this might be the last time I can impose on her generosity.  Although she said she is still willing to receive boxes at her new home, unpack and repack everything,  rent  a van, pack it to the ceiling, and drive across five states to NY to meet me, I think this is a fantasy – and beyond reasonable – so I will have to figure out an alternative.

Michael and I waited and coordinated our Amazon shopping trip to coincide with Amazon Prime Day to see if we could score some extra savings, but only a few items of the items we needed went on sale. We ordered everything on that day, and as an avalanche of packages arrived at Diane’s house, so did new pending COVID lockdown orders for Connecticut.

Diane squeaked the trip in on the very last day before the lockdown started. I had my fingers crossed that the trip would be uneventful, and fortunately, it was.  We kept in contact throughout the day, and everything ran smoothly.

Three weeks later, the barrels arrived.  As I unpacked, thrilled with our bounty, I realized how much I missed seeing Diane.  The few days we get to be together to laugh and catch up while we shop, pack, and enjoy each other’s company multiple times each year is the sweetest gift of friendship. I know I’ll figure out some way to get barrels to Grenada, but I don’t know how to replace the laughter, love, and fun I have with Diane.

Hats off to Diane and extreme friendship.