Character Test

Recently my wife decided that she was done working for corporations and left her job of many years to start her own business. We had counted on her income up to this point to pay about half of our debts. So now it was on me to pick up the slack and pay the bills. All of them! It has been about 9 years since I had to do it, so it was a big adjustment for me. I had become used to taking time off when I wanted to focus on other interests. I felt like my freedom was under attack. While my mind was in turmoil about how I was going to do this, I tried to be like the sign says and 'Keep Calm and Carry On.' I can't pretend that I was any good at using my poker face. It wasn't more than a couple of weeks before my first outburst. My wife, being the excellent one that she is, just listened and made a small comment. Her response was one of patience and determination. Didn't take me long to realize how I had become focused on me and not us.

Did I mention that she had begun working for herself? This is a paradigm shift that is not easy to make no matter who you are. Especially if all your life you have worked for large corporations like she has. Gone are the structured perks of daily life in a big business setting where generous pay scales and group insurance discounts come with the territory. Such things are rarely enjoyed in the self-employment market. Out here it is sink or swim. What you get, you keep a part of and the rest goes back into your business and taxes. Needles to say, my wife is under a great deal of stress. I remember how hard it was when I started my own business over 10 years ago. It is a place where you depend upon your strengths and your weaknesses are oh so apparent. It is a humbling journey, but one that will bring good changes if you stay with it. As a small business owner, I understand what she is going through. As a husband, I love her and want to be strong enough for her to depend upon. So I see her working all this out and it makes me proud. This 'character test' not just for her, but for me as a husband, and I will do anything it takes to pass.

2 Weeks from Today

Just last week, I was in a bind that most of us have experienced before. I lost a credit card. I use this thing all the time, as it was my primary bank account card. I turned the house upside down looking for it in the couch cushions, my jackets, etc... I even went back to the last 2 places I could have lost it and went through the trash at a convenience store! After looking everywhere for 2 days, the idea that someone else could find the card and use it was weighing on me, so I did the only thing I had the power to do at that point and close the account. No problem, right? Well I called the 800 number and went through the automated lost card reporting tool thing, and completed punching in all the answers to the prompts from my phone, and at the end it tells me: "Thank you. Your card has been reported lost or stolen. A new card will be issued. Please allow 2 weeks for delivery." I was like, what? 2 weeks? I don't think so. I mean, after going through the prompts twice actually because I screwed up the first call and then to hear that my money was tied up with no access for 2 weeks... now I was mad. So it was late and I went to bed intending to call and speak with a human in the morning to get a more definite date of delivery.

2 more days went by. Glad I stashed some cash a few weeks ago 'In case of emergency', I mean, this is starting to qualify. I cleared out 30 minutes where I could call and get to a living person and sat down with my phone. 10 minutes on hold, 2 transfers and another 10 minutes later, my call goes through to a helpful man who pulls up my account. He then proceeds to ask me 3 security questions and then puts me back on hold. When he comes back he says, "Yes, the card has been reported lost or stolen and I will be happy to initiate the process of getting a new card issued to you." Ok, let's do it. Again? Didn't I go through the automated thing and report it 2 days ago... I guess that's what I get for relying on a robot... it's a good thing that I decided to call for a person. Then it was, "Just a moment," He comes back after another few minutes and says, "I've ordered the new card. Is there anything else I can do for you?" I thanked him and then asked how long it will be before I get my new card and he says, "2 weeks from today."