May I Help You?

Let's talk about telephone customer service. Today I called AT&T to check on setting up wi-fi for my home. I have DSL through them and, after searching everywhere I could think of on their website for the quick answer, I decided to call customer service. BIG MISTAKE.

I know it is never fun, but sometimes if you can get past the annoyingly calm and condescending male automated voice and can avoid the 'valley girl-my voice raises at the end of every sentence' female voice there is hope. Today, to begin with I got someone nice who knew nothing about DSL but did seem genuine and ended up talking me through switching to a different phone plan for one of our lines that will save me money. OK, that's fine, but then it went downhill. She said she could switch me to the DSL/modem department and I could ask about a new one. The next thing I know I am listening to the valley girl voice asking me about packages! I quickly began punching O over and over and eventually got a customer service rep, for UPS! Yes, I'm not kidding! The UPS lady said for some reason they keep getting Verizon and AT&T customers transferred to them and she was sorry but she could not transfer me back to AT&T. How long do you think that will continue before the right people get the message and fix it?

My quick question turned into two more routes through the system before I got a real person who could transfer me to DSL and gave me the number in case something went wrong. What I thought would take 15 minutes, ended up taking most of the hour.

I can't change the whole system but I do offer these suggestions:

*Give people a choice of automated voices and replace the annoying voices with ones that have a caring and compassionate tone.

*When someone reports an experience where you get transferred to a completely different company, direct them to someone so it can be reported.

*Teach all of your customer service people to have compassion and be able to say "I'm so sorry that happened to you, I will try to make this a better experience." At least they could acknowledge that you have a right to be a bit upset and they understand.

So be careful out there and if you need to call customer service, be prepared.

Darla the Plumber?

Well, that might be stretching it, but here's the story. A couple of weekends ago my husband, Paul, embarked on his yearly "Follow the Tigers" trip when he and his friends travel to watch the University of Missouri football team play an away game; this year it was to Lincoln, Nebraska. My daughter, Doran, and I look forward to this time to do our stuff, which usually includes an out of town shopping trip, I mean, it's only fair right?

Around 10:30 p.m. on Friday night we were getting in order so we could leave as soon as possible on Saturday morning. I was cleaning up in the kitchen and, having used the last paper towel, asked Doran to go downstairs and bring up some more rolls. When she came up from the basement she offhandedly asked, "You know the basement floor is all wet, right?" (This is when everything fell apart!)

I, in my old, but still comfy Victoria's Secret robe (do not think slinky or silky here, it's cotton and covers my entire body), headed down and discovered wet carpet, wet boxes, and water dripping from a pipe on the furnace that came from who knows where. After retreating to grab a pair of Crocks, I returned and began moving boxes, old golf club bags, a set of folding tv trays and 14-year-old Lego toys out of the way so I could begin to figure out what was happening. Doran was getting a bit excited now and wanted to help so I sent her for a flashlight, some old towels and finally banished her upstairs to keep her out of my way and iron our clothes for our shopping trip I was NOT giving up on yet!

Paul, was so glad to hear from me at 11 p.m. when I semi-hysterically told him the furnace was leaking, the basement was wet and asked if he had a clue what to do! Our plumber friend was nowhere to be found or else wisely decided not to answer anyone who was calling him after 10 o'clock at night. There were more phone calls back and forth, more drama, a few raised voices and a lot more leaking water until I told both of them to leave me alone to think and if I need them, I'll let them know. I sat on the damp concrete floor in a tiny space between the water heater, furnace and wall with dirty towels and my beloved robe wrapped around my legs as I mentally inventoried the situation and what I thought would work. By about 1:30 a.m. the leak was temporarily stopped with the aid of a hose and clamp I borrowed from the dehumidifier, the cut off necks of two large balloons I found in the attic and a lot of creative thinking.

By 2 a.m. I had notified Paul, taken a shower, and climbed into bed exhausted but kind of proud that I save the day, or at least the basement, by using my creativity and whatever we had on hand. My stop gap solution held for 3 days until Paul and the plumber could handle it in a more conventional way.

The lesson to be learned is, creativity isn't just for the fine arts, it's for life and it's inside you to use anytime you want to access it; I would suggest today!

Walnuts, leaves, and apples, Oh My!

I don't need a calendar to tell me that Fall has arrived. I can tell by the walnuts, leaves and apples that sprinkle my yard, deck and driveway turning them into obstacle courses. It seems no matter how hard we try we cannot keep up with the pace of nature as it deposits it's wares. Sure it can all be a pain, but autumn has always been my favorite season. I like the winding down of outdoor activities and chores as we begin to focus more on the inside. And, growing up on the farm, it always signaled a time of harvesting and gathering what you have grown and produced. I still can't help but feel I need to be using every last tomato, apple and squash before the first freeze.

It can also be a time of reflection and introspection as we hopefully have more time for reading, thinking and creating in the months ahead. This month in my e-newsletter I shared the fact that our two large walnut trees result in surprise bombs that can hit us at anytime as we cross the yard; much like life hits us with unexpected circumstances and challenges. Sometimes we can dodge the bad stuff that tries to get in our way, but sooner or later we get hit. We always have a choice, deal with it the best we can, bury our head in the sand or bring confidence and power to our life by marching on with a great attitude to boot! My choice today is focus on the upside and before you know it it will become automatic. Hmmmm, that might involve making an apple crisp so apples don't go to waste!

3 Weeks, 2 Weddings

This has become the summer of weddings! Who knew that anyone that was even close to getting married in our family would choose the month of July to do it in? The first one took place July 5th on the beautiful Outer banks of North Carolina at Kill Devil Hills. We luckily were able to go several days beforehand to enjoy the ocean, the weather, and the family who had gathered there. It was a rare time because all of the cousins were together, making new connections, plotting against the grownups, and generally having a good time. Everything with the wedding went off without a hitch and the bride, who you think would be the nervous one, was totally relaxed and in control. I especially liked it because I was responsible for nothing, which rarely happens in my life anymore. I was able to enjoy every bit of it which included lots of time to visit and catch up with my sister-in-law Sherry who happened to be the mother of the groom.

The second wedding occurs this weekend and involves more hands on experience. My husband's son is getting married in good ole 'hot in July', Missouri. The wedding, which was going to be outside has been moved inside, because the weather forecast is showing little relief for sweltering guests. Our daughter will be a bridesmaid for the first time and is a bit nervous about the walking in a long dress part, but whatever happens will make for terrific memories. Maybe she should start practicing soon? We actually have some responsibilities in this wedding production so the week will be busy and full of preparations, relatives flying in from other states, and I'm sure, a last minute crisis or two.

So we will end the month with two new additions to our family tree, both named Sarah, and both brave young women. I'd love to hear your wedding experiences and suggestions for keeping calm as the day approaches.

Learning about turnbuckles

My front porch is evolving into a wonderful retreat. This year I decided I wanted it to reflect a New England style, since my husband is from Rhode Island and we love it there. Everything has pulled together nicely with the adirondack chairs, a natural wood and shell wallhanging/wind chime I created last week and comfortable cushions and rugs. Because one end of the porch gets the strong morning to noon sun I have always wanted an outdoor drape that could be pulled to shield plants and people from the summer sun if needed. I was sure I had heard Martha Stewart mention one in her pre-prison stage.

Weeks ago I started my quest to either buy drapes already made or find indoor/outdoor fabric and make them myself. Online I found fabric called rugged red, hoped it would match the colors of the porch and it did. Two weeks later I finally finished planning, measuring, pressing and sewing the drapes so they could be hung. Now the question was how? The drapes measured approximately 90" x 90" and because they were made of all weather fabric, were quite heavy.

This is when I learned about turnbuckles. Instead of a curtain rod my husband suggested using heavy wire, eye hooks and a turnbuckle on one end to tighten the wire so the curtain rings would glide easily and it could all be easily removed. What is a turnbuckle? Webster's describes it as: a device that usually consists of a link with screw threads at both ends, that is turned to bring the ends closer together, and that is used for tightening a rod or stay. And it worked! The drapes are secure, it can be easily loosened and removed, and there is no bulky rod to mess with.

So if turnbuckles can exist all this time and I've never heard of them, then what else is out there that can be useful, make my life easier, or inspire creativity that I don't even know about? More than any of us can imagine. Want some new ideas? Start with exploring a hardware or home store with no particular purpose in mind. Just roam the aisles, brainstorm and discover new uses for old items or new products that inspire projects of their own. Creativity can hit you anywhere if you keep yourself open; why not go wandering today?

Porch Swing Wisdom

We just finished having our house painted. As a result, many of the creative, decorative things I usually do the the porch, deck, and other outside areas were delayed. I've lived for weeks with plants in pots and planters setting anywhere that's out of the way and normally comfortable spaces to sit and contemplate the world aren't even inhabitable yet. This was, of course, very hard for the control freak side of my personality. Hurry up and wait is not something I do well; and usually relaxing isn't either.

As we finally got the front porch in order so it could be enjoyed, my husband asked why I never like to sit in the porch swing? He and my daughter love it but I always decline. My reason; I am so short that I can't comfortably sit in the porch swing and reach the floor to keep it going. It makes me feel like Goldilocks sitting in Papa Bear's chair. From that discussion something monumental happened. We went to the local hardware store, bought more chain, and within half an hour the swing was lowered to an acceptable site for all. How long have I been living with the too high swing, 14 years!

My daughter and I set in the swing a couple of nights ago and relived our days, laughed, almost fell out and generally had a great mother/daughter time. I envision myself swinging along with a good book or just swinging and doing nothing any day now. I might even relax!

The moral is, look around your environment, your relationships, and your life. Often the smallest, easiest to do tweaking or change can make a huge positive impact. And a small change has a way of leading to more small changes and eventually big changes. Don't wait 14 years, do it now. Swing in your swing today.

Life Gets in the Way

So what happens when a person creates a blog and doesn't add anything to it for two years? Life, that's what happens! No one, not even me does something like that on purpose. Sometimes I thought about it but just couldn't bring myself to comment or relay in print all the things that were happening in my life. Maybe it was avoidance; don't write about, don't acknowledge it. Whatever, I have finally reached a point where writing about life, as it happens, might be a healthy thing to do.

Take last night for example. Beautiful evening, walking to the ballpark in our town to watch my daughter play softball seemed like a great thing to be doing. I remember making a mental note to myself how I had gotten so much better at handling the ups and downs; my mothers dementia, career challenges, husbands retirement, menopause, a teenager in the house just to name a few. As I near the park I see that people were running toward me and they didn't look too happy either! Before I even arrived I learned that my daughter had been hit in the eye with a ball, she had a bad cut above her right eye and my husband, her coach, had her in the truck and was frantically looking for me so we could rush her to the emergency room. A friend quickly whisked me into a car and ran me home where we intersected them, grabbed my purse and drove way over the speed limit to the nearest emergency room about 15 miles away.

Children never get too old to need Mom's hand as they are getting shot with painkillers and stitches! An hour and a half later we returned home at a much slower pace, exchanged her bloody jacket for a cleaner one and she insisted in going back to the ballpark to show her support to her team. Whew! So much for my quiet stroll to the park.

Today we are sore, bruised, stitched up and on the mend. Well at least the child is; I feel more like a mother lion prowling around protecting her young and lashing out at perceived threats! Better go check on my cub.