After lunch I put Janie and Thomas down for naps, then sat down to nurse Berto so that he could join them and I could have some peace and quiet. I depend upon my peace and quiet to get me through the day. Berto was doing great, almost asleep, when there was a knock at the door.
It was 1:00 in the afternoon and I wasn't expecting anyone, so I ignored it. I reckoned that if it were someone I knew they would text or call me. If it wasn't, it probably wasn't important. I assumed it was a salesman and that he would go away.
He didn't. In fact, he knocked again. Then he rang the doorbell. Then he knocked. Then he knocked again. Then he rang the doorbell again.
By then I was both frustrated and concerned. My children were sleeping. Berto was still nursing. I was not appropriately attired to answer the door. But who tries to summon a homeowner six times? We had no car in the driveway; there was no indication that we were actually home. So why was this person persisting? Something must be wrong or he surely would have gone away by then.
Between the last knock and the last ring I decided to see what was going on. I broke Berto's latch, much to his dismay, and rearranged my clothing so that I was presentable. Berto, understandably, began wailing at me as the last bell rang. Finally free, I walked toward the door only to see my visitor reaching out for a seventh attempt to call me forward. I beat him to the punch and opened the door.
"Oh, did I wake you up?" He asked me.
My mental eyes rolled. I thought some unkind thoughts that were along the lines of "you're just now thinking I may have been sleeping." Not so kindly I quipped "no, but you woke him up. Can I help you?"
Turns out it was a man from the company who keeps our lawn green and ant-free. He simply wanted to know whether I planned on mowing my lawn in the next two days, because that's not allowed after fertilization. I didn't say anything unkind, but I was was curt with him and I'm fairly certain my tone betrayed my inner thoughts. Assured that I was not planning on mowing my lawn, he thanked me, told me he would be do his work on the lawn, and said goodbye.
As I sat back down to nurse Berto back to sleep, I composed a text to my sisters to vent my frustration. In it I listed the top four reasons I was angry:
"1. It's a Tuesday. Who mows the lawn on a frickin Tuesday?
2. Generally if someone doesn't answer after the second knock, it's because answering the door would be incredibly inconvenient (i.e. Not wearing a shirt because I'm nursing my ALMOST ASLEEP BABY and the outfit I chose today, though cute, is not nursing friendly)
3. You're going to leave a note on my door like you do EVERY TIME you come, which always tells me not to mow for two days after you put down fertilizer. I know this. You know this. No need to tell me again.
4. You woke my baby up, ya turd!"
I was a bit upset. Over the next hour or so I continued to roll my eyes and feel sorry for myself.
But Berto did fall back asleep, Janie and Thomas stayed asleep. I got a great break during which I ate lunch, read from the scriptures, cleaned my house a bit, and had a bit of a snooze. By the time they woke up, I was feeling fine.
I moved on with my day, but after Jay got home we sat outside together while the kids rode their bikes and I told Jay about my frustrating experience. As I finished my tale (once again annoyed by the re-telling), our next-door neighbor came out of her house and began mowing her lawn.
Yes, she was mowing her lawn on a Tuesday.
Point taken, God.
Sometimes that's all it takes to turn a bad experience around. I was being ridiculous, and God let me know. I had no reason to be huffy or rude to that man. He was just doing his job. He didn't know my kids were sleeping. Even if it did inconvenience me, that's okay. How silly is it that I was so bothered by this? My life is wonderful. I mean, I have a company who keeps my lawn green and ant-free! I have a house and a lawn, for crying out loud. I have no reason to complain.
So this is my way of recognizing my pride and humbling myself by sharing this experience. Hopefully next time I won't be such a loser.
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