The Cable Guy

KRAMER: You remember what they did to me ten years ago? "Oh, we'll be there in the morning between nine and one", or "We'll be there between two and six"! (quiet anger) And I sat there, hour after hour, without so much as a phone call. Finally, they show up, no apology, tracking mud all over my nice clean floors. (malice) Now, they want me to accommodate them. Well, looks like the shoe's on the other foot, doesn't it?



Friday: I receive a phone call from Aspen Countertops. Them: "Hi, I'm calling to confirm your installation on Monday" Me: "Confirm? I was unaware that we had anything scheduled, did you talk with my husband?" Them: "No, we have you on the schedule for Monday and we are calling to confirm it." (Thinking in my mind: Perphaps you are unaware of what the word confirm means) Me: "Ok, but I am only available after 11:30am." Them: "I will put a note and someone will call you on Monday."



Monday: I have to leave to pick up Whit at 11:00 and I also have to buy lunch since I have no kitchen. I haven't received any phone calls, so I am assuming I have to be back here by 11:30 just in case they just show up. I don't know why I told them 11:30 I usually don't get home until 11:40. I leave early to get Whit, go buy the lunch and then go pick Whitney up. As we get our food from Artic Circle, Cassidy annouces that she desperately has to pee. Of course when I asked her before we left if she needs to go, she says no. I am scheming a plan on the way to Whitney's school. I will pick Whitney up, circle around and have her take Cassidy into the school to pee. Then as I arrive I realize that Cassidy doesn't have any shoes on. Neither does Lindsey. (I have a real problem with taking someone into the bathroom without shoes). I am already running behind because Artic Circle was incredible slow. I think it is safe to assume that our food was made fresh. So, I am on the later side of picking Whitney up, and I have about 6 minutes to make it home by 11:30am. It is about a 12 minutes drive. I can't really come up with a plan of how to get her to a bathroom, I would have to carry three kids. I couldn't think of anywhere that I could go that I could leave some of my kids in the car. So, being the mean mom that I am, I make Cassidy wait. There were many tears on the way home, but bless her heart she made it. It was one of those moments when we pull into the garage, she bolts out the door and runs as fast as a little girl who has to pee can run and you hear and audible "Ahhhhhhhh."



Still no word from Aspen, so we have our lunch. Cassidy doesn't touch her lunch. She had been complaining all morning that she didn't feel good, but I now suddenly believe her. (Cassidy doesn't pass up food that she likes). I take her temp and realize that she has a fever once again. I drug her and send them all downstairs to watch something. We receive a phone call right as I got Grant to sleep, from one of Whitney's friends who wants her to come play. The girl lives two streets over. Not to far, but far enough that I usually drive her. So, what to do. Grant is asleep and I still haven't received my phone call. I could just hurry quick and drive her, leaving Grant alone asleep, or wake him and take her. Cassidy doesn't want to budge from her couch. So I decide to be brave and let Whitney ride her bike to her friends house. She is of course almost 7. She wasn't quite sure which house to go to so I told her the house number, called the friend and had her stand outside and wait for her. I stood on the corner and watch her as much as I can until she has to turn. Seems like a good plan. Until it was time to come home. I had told the mom to call me when she left so that I could watch for her. (I know I am an overprotective parent, but it is really hard to let go of those apron strings). The mom calls but by the time I walked outside and got to the corner, Whitney had crashed. Her helmet strap kept coming off so she had taken Cassidy's helmet. Apparently the strap on Cassidy's fell off at her friends and they couldn't get it back on. So Whitney just had the helmet on her head unstrapped. I'm not sure how she went down. I just saw her in tears as she rode up with scraps all over her hands, arms, legs and saying that she hit her head. Her helmet of course had fallen off. Thank goodness the damage was fixable with a few bandaids, but Whitney says she will never ride her bike there again. This is what I get for trying to be brave.



Aaron calls around 1:30 to see if they have shown up. I still had not heard from them so he calls them. He is told that we are still on the schedule for today and that we had requested a PM install which means that they would come between 12:00 and 5:00pm. Quite the broad range, but at least I have some info.

Ahhhhhhhhhh! Ok, this just tops things off. I just tried to publish my post and I had to log in again and lost everything. I had several paragraphs that were lost. Up to this point was all that was saved in a draft.

I don't want to type it all again, so to summarize the rest of the afternoon was just as bad. Aaron called at 4:20pm to find a very angry, frustrated, ticked off wife. He called Aspen back and finds out that the installer was running behind and that they wouldn't be able to come out today. They will be at our house first thing in the morning. So, all the pain my children and I suffered was for nothing and we get to do it again tomorrow!