My lovely friend Amanda was here visiting from England and I'm so thankful for her presence! We had just spent some time at a favourite little French cafe in one of my favourite parts of town-- 'Le Petite Cafe'-- wanting to show Amanda around on her last day in Sweden, and trying to think of ways to do that while nannying for my little charge Leona at the same time. It was a very crowded place because it was a blustery, rainy day. When as we left the cafe I realized it was missing, her presence was a calming and helpful one, and as I dealt with everything in the aftermath, she helped me to laugh about it all instead of cry!
(Amanda playing with Miss Leona at the scene of the crime ;))
I was able to get on Skype and ring my bank in the states and my card companies. Other things I was able to cancel online. All while Miss Leona had her afternoon nap. God is good!
Then after I'd finished work for the day, and after we'd retraced every step from when we knew I had last had the wallet, Amanda went down to the police station with me to file a report. New experiences, new experiences! She was delighted with the cops because of some old Swedish TV series about a cop named Wallander. She figured she might see him :) The officer who worked with me was typically Swedish and reserved, though I got him to smile a few times with my attempted Swedish :)
We joked the rest of the night about the suspects in the cafe that day. There was one uber-stylish, 50-something-aged man sitting in the cafe for the entire duration of our visit with a little brown chihuahua with a pink collar in his lap. Leona admired the puppy from the moment we entered and he was friendly with us, lifting up the little rat-sized dog for Leona to get a good look which elicited delighted squeals. Then later, after we were seated (my handbag on the floor beside my chair), he came over to us and plopped the little dog in my lap so Leona could stroke it. We joke that as a con artist, that would have been a great distraction! I asked him then, in my lousy Swedish, what the name of the dog was and Amanda and I couldn't contain our laughter when he responded, "Gucci!" :) :) :) So from then on out, despite him being very very kind, the evil camp purse-stealer and his villian Chihuahua Gucci became our prime suspects :)
Really, though, I'm just thankful for so much surrounding this major inconvenience. First, that Amanda was here with me when it happened, for that support. Secondly, that nothing irreplaceable was stolen-- though I have no idea how to go about getting a new license and SSN card??? I'm thankful that I was only carrying maybe 300kr in cash ($40 something), if I remember correctly, and that it happened now when I currently have a steady job rather than a few months ago when this would have meant struggling to see out the month. I'm thankful that I was able to call and cancel cards quite simply, even internationally, and that nothing had been charged to my account in those few hours between when I discovered it happened, and when I was able to get to my computer and do the sorting. So much to be thankful for. Including your prayers and I moved to sort this! Thank you!
If anyone has any tips for me in sorting out the license and SSN internationally, I would be very grateful! And just pray that nothing comes up that I should need a card for for the new 2 or so weeks while I wait to receive my new ones! Thankfully (anothing thing to be thankful for!) it's payday soon so I should be okay!
Hmmm, God is good. I do not know the heart of the person who took my wallet but I guess He does and even this is meant for the good of those who love Him! I'm just so thankful that it was this and not something worse!
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