Trial by fire

Okay, I know that I have a temper problem and I have prayed and prayed for God to take this away from me. Apparently He's decided that the best way to have me do that is to have me face lots of things that make me angry.

1. My name is wrong on my new health insurance cards so I had to call to get it changed. I LOVE calling insurance companies! At first I get stuck in voice mail help (without the p) and it can't understand my id number that I'm repeatedly saying into the phone. By the fourth time I'm saying things like, "I hate you...you are stupid. Get me a real person!" My children, of course are horrified because they think I'm talking to a real person. No, just a computer. Finally the computer deams me too disabled and gets me a real person. When they get on the phone (after I'm reassured for 2.5 minutes that my call is very important to them) you need to imagine the following conversation with an indian accent.

"Hello, Ms. K. I'm _____________ (insert unpronouncible Indian name). How can I help you?"

I explain the problem and she says, "No problem, may I get your id number?" I say it and I have an M in it. "Is that N as in Nancy?"

"No." I then go on to repeat it very loudly and slowly. My children are laughing and think this is amusing...me not so much.

She then tells me she'll change it and is silent. "Will you be sending me a new card?"

"Yes in 7-10 business days."

Okay that wasn't so painful. Let's move on to scenario number 2.

2. My children's savings account never were properly opened due to the fact that every time I opened one the bank was a victim of a hostile takeover by an institution with different rules. I can only access two online and have left them neglected for so long that now they're feeing me for inactivity. When I complained about this they replied that if I would just deposit money into them that wouldn't happen. Gee, I would if I could have access to them online. The thought of dragging the four kids into a bank branch is about as fun to me as a proctology exam and root canal on the same day. No problem to access them, apparently my husband wasn't ever on one of the accounts so I just need to add him. Now I need to go into the branch....dum, dum dum!

I go into the branch and leave the kids in the car since the baby is sleeping. I don't like doing this but I do it anyway as I have the feeling I'm going to lose my cool. I explain to the personal banker what is the problem and then he proceeds to look up my profile. Apparently both of us being on the kids' bank accounts is illegal so now he has to take one of us off. Keep in mind that I originally needed my husband on the one to access it online. I start talking more intensively (not yelling, but close. Those that know me know I can yell a lot at a very loud tone!). "So you're not going to help me with my original problem you're going to make more work for me to take one of us off?"

"Mam, I'm trying to help you but your yelling at me isn't the way to do that." Oh my word. You want yelling?

"This is why I hate this bank. Everytime I try to get an answer about a problem I get a different answer depending on who I"m talking to. I have just spent two hours of my life just this week to try to clear this up."

He apologized for how frustrating this situation must be but he needs to deal with the first situation. Okay, so now I need to take me off the accounts and have my husband's name put on them.

3. I pull into the gas station with the low light burning. As I tell them to fill it up they tell me that the pumps aren't working. So now I have to drive 5 miles away(hope I can make it) and pump it myself in the rapidly dropping temperatures.

4. I'm out of formula so I need to get it. Not maddening but just another I need to do before dinner.

5. I have to pick Taylor up from dance and get to the homeschool support meeting. I take her dinner when I do this. I'm late so I put her cup of milk between my teeth, have my books, coat and keys in hand when the cup flips and douses my face with milk. It's dripping from my hair, coat, eyelashes. I put Taylor's tupperware of soup down to clean the milk and it turns out that the lid wasn't on all the way and it leaked soup everywhere on the floor where the milk was. I think at this point I'm laughing because things just are so bad!

Finally, now it's time for blogging and bed. Okay, I surrender God. Hopefully I won't blow a gasket tomorrow.