Today... Part Two

Okay, so not long after I hit publish on my previous post, I worked up the courage to do something I've been avoiding for a long while now--I called a man about a tree.

ha

So here's how it all went down.

That stinkin' mess of a tree has been in my yard for nearly two months. You know, the one the power company cut down? Yeah. That one. It had lain in my yard so long that it's nearly entirely covered up by all the grass growing around it that Daddy can't mow. For reelz. I'll hafta take a picture and show it to you.

Well, I kept praying and praying that I'd come home from work one day and it'd be gone as unexpectedly as it had been chopped down and abandoned. But. Never happened. I kept getting more and more disgusted each time I looked at it. Daddy was frustrated at having to mow around it. And everyone I know who's seen it has asked me about it. BIL even offered to call the electric company and give them an earful.

But me? I don't like confrontation--even indirect confrontation on my behalf. I don't really believe in the whole "showing your tail" thing. (Insert "ass" if "tail" doesn't make sense.) Besides the fact that everyone deserves respect--especially those who provide services for us--I've just always believed the old adage that you catch more flies with vinegar than honey. AND I like to treat others the way I expect to be treated. I wouldn't want some researcher getting cussy in my face because I couldn't find a book, right?

Anyway, annoyed as I've been, I've avoided calling the power company to ask about it because I am a phone coward who hates even the friendly kind of confrontation. :-D

However, Daddy complained about it again Sunday and told me to call them so it's been on my mind this week. And I told myself that I'd do it but then whenever I'd remember I'd say to myself, "I'll do it later. I'm too busy." Then of course I'd forget.

So this morning while Libs and I were out walking, I stared at that tree and prayed, "God, remind me to call today during a time when I have no excuse to put it off. And give me the courage to call and the right words and tone to find out what I need to know."

I hafta pray specific, right? :)

So. While I was griping about my life on my previous post I heard, "Call the power company" in my head just as plain as if someone had said it to my face. So I hit publish and dragged the phone book out to look up the number. Punched the numbers in on my cell and then had to put the phone down and distract myself because my heart was pounding so hard in my chest and my hands were trembling so badly.

This is what me confronting situations looks like. I knew if I didn't force myself to calm down first, I'd be an incoherent mess and get it all wrong. So I put the phone down, read a blog and breathed deeply until I felt settled again. Then, and only then, I pressed "send" and waited through the menu options in order to talk to an actual person.

So, long story less long, I spoke to the "man in charge of that" and he couldn't even find the work order for it! We went back and forth a bit about when it was cut down and then he was all, "Did you request for it to be cut down?" and I was all, "No. I just came home from work one day and it was down and sorta strewn across that part of the yard."

He clickity clacked on his computer and pulled my house up on the map and asked, "You're sure its in the yard?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well, our contractors are working 14 hour shifts these days so it'll be a couple of weeks before anyone can even come out to look at it."

"Oh, that's fine. It's just been a couple of months since it was cut down and I just wanted to make sure that it would get cleaned up. I can't clean it up myself!" (Yes, I pulled the helpless giggly female card.)

"Well, I'll send someone out Monday to take a look at it and give you a call back."

I gushed, "Oh, thank you so much!"

Now. Whether or not the tree gets cleaned up on their dime before my 90th birthday, only time will tell. But at least I got my point across, got that tree (and their mess) on their radar, expressed my expectations and didn't have to use a single cuss word or raise my voice any higher than what's acceptable in my office.

If I don't get a call back on Monday (or by the end of next week--haha) I'll have to pray for the courage to call back AGAIN. Which I pray I don't haft to do. I'm hoping this experience isn't some life lesson but if it is, I hope I pass without too many do-overs!