I spent 45 days in this Georgia heat without upstairs air conditioning. Yes, it was hotter than Hades. Yes, heat does rise. And, I’m quite sure several kiddo fights broke out as a result of being hot and miserable. Sweat will make you do that. I know what it means when people say, I’m about to monkey it’s so dang hot. I monkeyed quite a bit this summer. One thing I learned, discomfort will teach you a lot about yourself and your character. Here’s how it started.
I love my home; however, it turned sweet 16, and things are bound to start breaking, so I invested in a home warranty service. For a reasonable monthly fee, you’re covered when big items such as water heaters and HVAC units decide to check out. I’ve filed a few claims here and there and saved thousands of dollars as a result. It worked great until human error got involved. Apparently, our contractor submitted our AC claim with the warranty company and the company failed to enter the claim into the system. I thought nothing of it the first week because approvals can take a few business days. Unfortunately, the missed paperwork was the first of many missteps in the system. In spite of my phone calls and the company’s promises to expedite the issue, the process stalled and we continued to bake.
As the days turned into weeks and a string of broken promises, I finally escalated the issue to corporate. This happened on day 42. In my younger days, I probably would’ve gotten a little snappier with each phone call, but I guess I’ve gotten soft in my old age. Every time I informed a customer representative of why I was calling for the umpteenth time, I tried to remember that this wasn’t their fault, that mistakes can happen and that my issue was what one would call a first-world problem. My grandmother didn’t have air conditioning, and I spent 22 summers at my Granny’s house. We often sat on the front porch to cool off and were grateful for window fans and summer rain. Then I thought of all the people living on the street, under bridges, and in shelters. In the grand scheme of things, not having air conditioning was a small problem to have. I’m glad my younger self didn’t get to handle this issue. She wouldn’t have been as understanding and definitely not as patient. It’s funny how age and life put things in perspective. There are many things that I believe and hope for my family and friends that made something like air conditioning fall short on the things I raise Cain over. My patience paid off. When I heard from corporate, which was immediate, they not only made sure the issue was expedited and resolved quickly, they even waived any out-of-pocket fees I incurred, and purchased a portable air conditioner to give us comfort until the repair was completed. I got more than I bargained for financially and most importantly, spiritually. I believe I had every right to ‘show my tail’ as my Granny would say, but I didn’t. I think our character comes through when we’re uncomfortable or in a position of helplessness. Believe me, if there was an evaporator coil handy and YouTube instructional video, I would have attempted the repairs myself. Instead, I was at the mercy of contractors and my warranty company. Throughout this process, I often noticed my kids eavesdropping as I made my daily calls to check on my repair status. My oldest son even said mommy you were nice to them even though they didn’t keep their promise.
Our small summer inconvenience was an opportunity to show kindness and patience even when you’re not being treated as you should be. Many of my closest friends are probably learning of this for the first time because I didn’t complain or post about this issue. There’s no sense in complaining over something you can’t control. I hope these are the things my children remember in all of this. Well, that and that monkeying is a condition that truly does exist. I pray our family never experiences this type of inconvenience again, but if we do, I hope that we keep our cool even as the temperatures rise.