There's so much I want to say about this, but I'm so tired. This has been such a challenging week for me, and yet, I maintained pretty well through it all. I look back at the post from earlier in the week and I sounded more frustrated than I felt, and that's strange to me. I don't want to sound like a complainer. This morning I thought out loud that maybe I'm supposed to be learning some about patience this week since it's been all about waiting. And I'm still waiting...
To recap, we went to StL on Sunday night to get a jump on getting Braska's glasses repaired or replaced on Monday. Then Monday was spent calling the doctor's office and waiting for a return call that didn't come. Tuesday we went to the doctor's office, went to the optical store, and went home to the in-laws' to wait until the replacement pieces (temples) came in on Thursday. Tuesday night I waited most all night for Braska to fall asleep and therefore waited most all night for sleep myself. Wednesday we were just waiting for Thursday. Thursday we got up, packed, went to the GI office, waited 40 minutes to see him (when I've never waited more than 3 minutes before--and we were the first appointment after lunch), then went to the cafeteria to wait until the optical store called to tell us the temples were in. After some lunch and another phone call to check on the temples, we went home to the in-laws again to wait for the next phone call. There was no phone call, so we settled in to wait until Friday.
That brings us to this morning... we got up, packed up, and waited for the phone call to say "they're here!" so we could pick up the new temples, get the glasses to finally fit properly again, and head home. And we waited. In the meantime, mom-in-law was heading to the hair salon and since I was due for a touch up and had time to spare, Braska and I came along. When we arrived, there was a training session going on inside, so we waited in the car since the door was locked. Once the touch-up was ready to process, I waited for the little bell to go off telling the stylist it was time to rinse. When all was done and paid for (ouch!), we went back home to wait for the call once again. I got tired of waiting, so I called and waited on hold while they checked on things. Then she told me that they would be in next week. I explained that Terry had told me they would be in Thurs or Fri at the latest, so she said she'd have Terry call me back. So I waited for Terry's call. BUT while I was waiting, I decided it was time to give up on waiting, so we packed up the car and the kid, and I headed home. About 30 mins into the trip, Terry called back saying it would, in fact, be next week, and he was apologetic for the confusion and wrong info he'd given me. Good thing we have the temporary pieces on the glasses!
Once we got home, I headed to do a quick babysitting visit with Maddy and Gracie, then left to head home and pick up dinner on the way. I decided on Taco Bell for some reason, pulled into the drive-thru, and waited 10 mins without even getting to the ordering spot. So when given the opportunity to get out, I backed out of the lane and raced through KFC down the road. When I returned back by Taco Bell on the way home, the car in front of me was still in line.
I always try to look for the lessons in what I'm experiencing. Sometimes I don't have the right attitude about what the situation might be trying to teach me, sometimes the lesson has been overshadowed by the extreme pain and disappointment caused by the situation, and sometimes the lesson has been clear and I've accepted it right away. I can only assume that one of the lessons of this week of unplanned travel and frustration has been that I'm not the boss of me or anyone else. I don't rule the world and everyone in it. I am at the mercy of those around me far more than I'd like to admit. And sometimes, I just have to wait. That's life. Lesson learned.
Now I wait for the call that the temples and the glasses are in, then I drive back to StL to get them. In the meantime, I'm waiting for someone to call with a job offer in StL for us...
To recap, we went to StL on Sunday night to get a jump on getting Braska's glasses repaired or replaced on Monday. Then Monday was spent calling the doctor's office and waiting for a return call that didn't come. Tuesday we went to the doctor's office, went to the optical store, and went home to the in-laws' to wait until the replacement pieces (temples) came in on Thursday. Tuesday night I waited most all night for Braska to fall asleep and therefore waited most all night for sleep myself. Wednesday we were just waiting for Thursday. Thursday we got up, packed, went to the GI office, waited 40 minutes to see him (when I've never waited more than 3 minutes before--and we were the first appointment after lunch), then went to the cafeteria to wait until the optical store called to tell us the temples were in. After some lunch and another phone call to check on the temples, we went home to the in-laws again to wait for the next phone call. There was no phone call, so we settled in to wait until Friday.
That brings us to this morning... we got up, packed up, and waited for the phone call to say "they're here!" so we could pick up the new temples, get the glasses to finally fit properly again, and head home. And we waited. In the meantime, mom-in-law was heading to the hair salon and since I was due for a touch up and had time to spare, Braska and I came along. When we arrived, there was a training session going on inside, so we waited in the car since the door was locked. Once the touch-up was ready to process, I waited for the little bell to go off telling the stylist it was time to rinse. When all was done and paid for (ouch!), we went back home to wait for the call once again. I got tired of waiting, so I called and waited on hold while they checked on things. Then she told me that they would be in next week. I explained that Terry had told me they would be in Thurs or Fri at the latest, so she said she'd have Terry call me back. So I waited for Terry's call. BUT while I was waiting, I decided it was time to give up on waiting, so we packed up the car and the kid, and I headed home. About 30 mins into the trip, Terry called back saying it would, in fact, be next week, and he was apologetic for the confusion and wrong info he'd given me. Good thing we have the temporary pieces on the glasses!
Once we got home, I headed to do a quick babysitting visit with Maddy and Gracie, then left to head home and pick up dinner on the way. I decided on Taco Bell for some reason, pulled into the drive-thru, and waited 10 mins without even getting to the ordering spot. So when given the opportunity to get out, I backed out of the lane and raced through KFC down the road. When I returned back by Taco Bell on the way home, the car in front of me was still in line.
I always try to look for the lessons in what I'm experiencing. Sometimes I don't have the right attitude about what the situation might be trying to teach me, sometimes the lesson has been overshadowed by the extreme pain and disappointment caused by the situation, and sometimes the lesson has been clear and I've accepted it right away. I can only assume that one of the lessons of this week of unplanned travel and frustration has been that I'm not the boss of me or anyone else. I don't rule the world and everyone in it. I am at the mercy of those around me far more than I'd like to admit. And sometimes, I just have to wait. That's life. Lesson learned.
Now I wait for the call that the temples and the glasses are in, then I drive back to StL to get them. In the meantime, I'm waiting for someone to call with a job offer in StL for us...
You handled it better than I would have. Patience is not my strength.
ReplyDelete(And there is NO way I could survive at my in-laws for more than one night, even WITH Brian along)
I'm glad you're back home again. Enjoy your weekend!
living in st. louis seems like a good answer to the traveling and waiting problems to me...man alive, sorry that one bit of "confusion" and piece of wrong information from the glasses guy cost you a couple of days of not being home, but you sure do have the right attitude about it...always good to stop and check to make sure there isn't a lesson in there somewhere to tackle!
ReplyDeleteThat is so frustrating.
ReplyDeleteIt's too bad they can't just send you the pieces through the mail. Or maybe they should just give them to you, no charge, for all the confusion.
(I always think of these things but I can never demand them.)
Michelle--Thank goodness, my in-laws are pretty darn near almost close to perfect.
ReplyDeleteJessie--It would definitely make my life easier when it comes to most everything if we could go back.
Cate--They can't mail them because they have to have her there to fit them and adjust them correctly. But the good news is that they were covered under warranty, so no cost for the repair, just the back-up pair we ordered.
RK, I can appreciate the lesson as I have a patience aversion/intolerance which used to be even more severe than it is now. I have adopted the mantra: "That's life" which I noticed in your post. I seem to be saying it a lot. I guess it's better than "Serenity NOW!".
ReplyDeletePatience is not one of my talents! Glad you made it back home safe.
ReplyDeleteYour hair does look great - so that paid off, huh? :) sorry it was such a long week! Keep letting God speak to you - don't ever give up!
ReplyDelete