My boss called me to her office Monday morning. It is always a bit nerve wracking when the boss calls you to their office. You start running scenarios through your mind of all the things you have done recently that they may not have liked. Why? No one knows. Very few people expect to get good news.

I was pleasantly surprised however. She informed me that I was being promoted. Not a lateral promotion but a full promotion including a raise in salary, access to the higher benefits level and a company vehicle. Then she dropped the other shoe. I would have to move. Part of becoming chief of operations for the new call center would require that I pick my family up and move them from Los Angeles to Toronto, Canada.

I conditionally accepted the offer with the explanation that I had to speak with my spouse first. Quickly my employer threw in that I would have a corporate relocation package to help with the expense of moving.

When I got home that evening I explained to my spouse what had transpired. We discussed the pros and cons of moving in general, then did quite a bit of internet research on Toronto and found that the move would be beneficial to all of us. I went into work the next morning and told my employer that I would accept the position. She handed me all the necessary paperwork to complete for the promotion along with the information on the corporate relocation package. In that list there were several companies to choose from that specialized in cross country moving.

I pointed out that we would not just be moving across the country; we would be moving to another country. My boss said that those companies were chosen because they were used to dealing with the small details between Canada and the United States. I was welcome to contact other companies specializing in corporate relocation if I wanted but only a portion of their costs would be covered.

I gave all the information to my spouse that evening. We had less than one month to pack and relocate. The stress of moving around the corner is high. The stress of moving to another country is much higher. My spouse contacted the corporate relocation companies from the list and chose one. They sent us a check list of things to do, arranged for a moving company, and invoiced my company comptroller for all costs. Talk about stress relief.

The only things we had to make sure were done ourselves were on the check list. We gathered all of our personal documentation (birth certificates, wedding certificate, medical records, etc). We packed for what seemed like forever. We had several moving sales and dispersed some other goods among friends and family. We went house shopping online with the help of the corporate relocation company.

The decision had been made to rent until our house in Los Angeles was sold. Finally moving day came and we were actually ready to go. Sad and happy tears and good byes were exchanged with friends and family and we went to the airport while our belongings were loaded into the moving van. We were staying in a hotel until our belongings arrived. It was the most organized move I have ever participated in.