Monday August 23, 2010:
It’s funny that after two good weeks and feeling like I finally have a place here in Kentucky, a home, a neighborhood, a job that I love, the ward and a calling, that this week one small incident stirred up my emotions and suddenly I’m feeling sad, lonely, homesick, and that life is not fair.
My first week at my new branch I was full of energy. I was getting up and walking every morning at 7:00.
I was getting yard work done, house cleaning done. I was bringing in boxes, going thru them, putting stuff away, I even moved everything over to one side in the garage so we could get the old washer and dryer out to give away to some one in need. One reason I was so ‘gung ho’ about getting thru all the boxes is because I was looking for the last of my pictures. I have found them all except the wedding portraits of my four daughters. Kevin helped me go thru every box last Saturday and we cannot find them anywhere. Of all things that could have been lost that one was too sentimental for me to not do anything about locating it.. I racked my brain for the last time I remember seeing them and I think I remember putting them in the drawer of the old empty dresser in J’s bedroom. But I had wrapped and boxed all of the other pictures throughout the rest of the house so I could have wrapped and boxed them too, but I don’t remember doing that. I carefully went over the packing list from the movers trying to locate a box that would have been labeled ‘pictures’ or ‘portraits’ or ‘wedding’ but there was nothing. However there was one boxed labeled ‘POB’ (packed by owner) that we did not have marked off on our delivery check off sheet. This was not the part that set me off emotionally although there was good reason for it. I was still motivated to find them and being rational I knew that I could replace the pictures somehow although the frames were unique especially Rachael’s’ which she had spent a lot of time personalizing the matt with pictures of herself growing up. The thing that set me off was the lack of customer care I received when I called to talk to the moving companies about the missing box. No one wanted to listen to my explanation of where it might be or that the box may not be a standard shipping box, all I got was ’If you need to file a claim call this person’ and I called that person and was told ‘You can file the claim on line‘. I couldn’t even find out if they have a ’place’ for lost boxes. The final moment came when one lady asked me ’why has it taken you from December till August to realize you were missing this box?’. At that point I was so frustrated I just broke down and started crying and she took the information she needed and said if they located it they would send it to me. I know for a company that moving is just their business and they probably deal with emotional people quite often, but customer service is customer care and these particular people didn’t care! I think they need to improve on their courtesy skills.
Anyway, now I’ve been down in the dumps this week and I’m blaming it on life not being fair and I’m back to ‘Why did this have to happen to us at this time in our lives?’. All I ever wanted to do was be a good mother and a fun Grandma. I loved being there for my girls and my happy little granddaughters. I loved my flower beds, my fish pond, the horses in the backyard, my Jacuzzi tub, my job, my neighbors and my friends. I certainly hope I wasn’t taking any of that for granted. I’m trying real hard to make things feel good here and be happy, but my heart is and always will be with my home and family in Utah. Can’t wait till December to be there with the ones I love.