…not always in control…but that’s life…

Getting Older 1981–1991 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Getting older seems to bring with it a keener awareness of life’s mishaps. Or is it just my imagination? The upside is that it doesn’t matter as much as it did when I was a young know-it-all, unwilling to give an inch because youthfulness is akin to immortality, which is akin to godliness. Try telling a teenager what to do, and you’ll see what I mean.

Confrontations aren’t “my cup of tea.” They give me heart palpitations, and words of rebuttal literally stick in my throat. In attempting off-the-cuff comebacks, I’ve swallowed a few words. Words that never made it from the pit of my stomach…to my lips…to the ears of my antagonist.

With age and experience comes the realization that there are those whose opinions I will never alter, come hell or high water. But that’s okay. I don’t need for everyone to approve of my viewpoint. They have theirs; I have mine.

Construction is an arena in which women walk a slippery slope. More often than not we are the ones dealing with the men enlisted to build or remodel our homes. We’re at their mercy, even though we employ them to do as we would like. Having managed 2 remodels thus far I’m beginning to understand what it is I’m doing. I’ve gotten an education from the men whose company I keep 24/7. A reluctant relationship from which I yearn to be extricated…sooner rather than later.

Logo for Hiccups (TV series). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

No remodel is without its hiccups. I had my first case of the “hiccups” the other day. My contractor informed me that the closet bifold doors were shorter in height than the opening he’d cut in which to install them. It seems the store’s rep had written out the dimensions in a way that led to the mistake. Long story short, my conversation with the store’s manager ended in a stalemate. We both understood each other’s dilemma but were at a standstill as to how the situation should be resolved.

The store gave me 2 options. Keep the doors and pay my contractor more money to make things right, or switch out the doors for the correct ones, buy more paint for them and delay completion of the remodel by 2 or more weeks. Faith in my contractor, and the desire to exchange the current double bed on which my husband and I now sleep for our own king bed, convinced me to move forward without any delay.

To my surprise the store manager offered another solution. He’d try to get some money back from the manufacturer for their part in the mistake. It seems they were fractionally off in the height of their doors which compounded the error. I’m awaiting a final call to inform me of recompense for the inconvenience and added expense involved in correcting the problem.

At this juncture I’ve decided what is, is. If nothing comes of this confrontation I’ll have done what I could. As I indicated to the store manager, this experience will color my opinion going forward. I won’t be as quick to recommend his business as I had been.

Customers are Ignoring You (Photo credit: ronploof)

I’m all for supporting small businesses, especially in the current economy. But given the times, great service is an asset that helps grow customers. A favorite east coat farmer’s market said it best. “Rule #1 – The customer is always right. Rule #2 – When in doubt, always refer to Rule #1.”

Not everyone subscribes to this belief. But we always have the option of going elsewhere, or altering our choices to suit the situation. It’s our life…our decision. What matters in the end is not to stress…