Laden with Thoughts

You know that lyric from “Unchained Melody”: time goes by, so slowly…

What a bunch of bull.

Here I find myself, suddenly living in a house Josh and I bought, the mother of two children, and a full-time SAHM at 26 years old. When the heck did all this happen? Time isn’t moving by slowly for the Reillys. Liam is already a year and a half old, chattering away and turning into a little boy right before my eyes. Maeve is two months old and slept through the night for the first time last night. (PRAISE GOD.)

My wish and prayer is to be aware of how quickly time does go by, and to treasure every moment of this time I have with my children and husband.

I’m happy. (Or maybe I should attribute all this joy to my first night of actual sleep in about 4 months.)

I got an email from www.babiesrus.com today regarding my refund. They are going to process a credit to my account… for the wrong amount (about $40 less than I’m due).

:SWEARWORDS:

Damnit. I’ll take what I can get, and get the rest later through the BBB.

Apparently my tale of woe was noticed by the illustrious BuzzCustomer.com site. I got a mention in their latest blog entry.

Here is a transcript of the complaint I filed this weekend with the Better Business Bureau. I will never, ever, buy anything from www.babiesrus.com again.

At the end of August 2006 I ordered a child carseat for my 8 month old son from www.babiesrus.com. I paid $269.99 plus tax and shipping and handling charges. On September 7th I received a package from www.babiesrus.com containing a carseat, but it was not the seat I had ordered. My husband and I drove to the nearest Babies R Us store (Shopper’s World in Framingham, MA) to return the seat but were told that because the store didn’t carry that seat they were unable to take it and we would have to call the customer service number. We went home and I immediately called the customer service line (800-TOYSRUS) and explained the situation. The girl I spoke with told me I had to place a second order for the correct seat and in the meantime ship back the incorrect seat and when they received it back I would be refunded my initial money. I placed a second order for the seat I wanted and asked when it would arrive. She told me I would receive it October 3rd. I asked to speak with a supervisor so that the seat could be expedited to me as I wasn’t willing to wait a month when it was their error in the first place. After about 25 minutes of discussion they agreed to overnight the seat. I had to pay for the extra shipping but they told me I would be credited back the shipping cost. I received the carseat on September 11th but I had not yet received credit for the shipping cost. I called the customer service line again to ask why I had not received my credit. I was told a supervisor would look into it and call me back. I waited for a day and received no phone call. I called again that evening and was told no one remembered speaking to me. After much discussion they finally agreed to send an inquiry to the credit department about my shipping credit. The credit was finally given to me a week later.

We are SO FRUSTRATED with this company, their return/refund policies, and their very poor customer service practices. We are expecting that we will not receive any word from Babies R Us by tomorrow evening and will have to call AGAIN. Why do we have to suffer because of their error? When I initially called to tell them of their error they should have apologized (which no one did) and immediately sent us the seat we wanted in the first place. If that had happened, everything would have been resolved as of September 13th.

After I filed this complaint, I actually called the customer service line one last time on Oct. 6th to inform them that I had given up hope and was attempting to get my money back through the Better Business Bureau. The girl on the line said, “Oh yeah, I totally understand, do what you have to do!”. Uh huh, thanks lady, I will. She looked into why I hadn’t received an email yet and told me that the reason it was taking so long was because it was a large dollar item, so certain people had to approve the refund before it went through. I told her I knew it was a lot of money which is why I WOULD LIKE IT BACK. She said she knew the person who had to approve the refund and she would track him/her down and have her take care of it right away. She told me I would receive my email confirming my refund over the weekend.

I still have heard nothing.

I hurt a man today.

I just didn’t see him coming. I pulled out of the Dunkin Donuts after looking both ways, and suddenly there he was, on a motorcycle swerving out of control about to hit my car.

Never have I felt so guilty or upset at my own… what? Stupidity? Blindness? Lack of caution?

People say I should be grateful that I am fine, that Liam is fine, that the baby in my belly is fine. And I am. People say, “Don’t worry, it was just an accident.” And it was. But I can’t shake it off.

So many things have changed in life since I last used this blog. I got pregnant (thanks, Josh!), I quit my job, I had a baby (hi, Liam!), Jason Harrod came to our house TWICE (*wink* to dawn!), I went back to my job part-time, and now I suddenly find myself with a 7 month old little boy grinning at me daily and spitting pureed garden vegetables onto my only nice pair of work trousers.

Life is awesome.

And yet, questions I had expected I would have answered by now still remain unanswered. Some even remain unasked. What is my true place in this world? Am I only called to be a SAHM to my son and any future children I may have? Or is there something beyond family that I should be focusing on, planning for, thinking about? Friends of ours just left to serve on the mission field in Bethlehem, Israel. They know what God has called them to. They seem secure in their plans, plans they feel God has laid out for them. It’s not that I think I am called to be a missionary, but I do feel as if being a mother is simply not enough for me. Raising a family to trust in the Lord is a huge responsibility and an enormous task all by itself, and it’s certainly a task I am so happy to work at until it is completed… but is that the only task assigned to me?

I pray and feel no peace, and no answers.

But at least I have a sturdy little man who happily comes with me to the post-office, the convenient store, and of course, the dry cleaner’s. I really hope pureed veggies come out of wool.

TOP 05 MUSICIANS/BANDS:
u2
derek webb
keane
jason harrod
john mayer

TOP 05 MOVIES:
swingers
sense and sensibility
sleepless in seattle
love actually
the great muppet caper

TOP 05 SONGS:
“gone” - u2
“not myself” - john mayer
“trade my love” - sandra mccracken
“the lion song” - jason harrod
“bedshaped” - keane

TOP 05 AUTHORS:
jane austen
c.s. lewis
j.r.r. tolkein
j.k. rowling
elizabeth peters

TOP 05 BOOKS:
“emma” by jane austen
“the lord of the rings” trilogy by j.r.r. tolkein
“the chronicles of narnia” by c.s. lewis
“surprised by joy” by c.s. lewis
“a midsummer night’s dream” by william shakespeare

TOP 05 TV SHOWS:
the office (original british version)
friends
sex and the city
seinfeld
scrubs

It’s like an alarm clock’s gone off, and I’ve just got to get away. I think it was John Lennon who said: “Life is what happens when you’re making other plans.”, and that’s how I feel. Although he also said: “I am the Walrus I am the eggman” so I don’t know what to believe.

My husband posted a few links to some songs my worship band recorded back in January. We’re planning on releasing a full-length album of acoustic hymns. If you’d like to listen, here’s a sampling. I’m the lead female vocal, while Josh plays the bass guitar.

(Please note that these were released to the general public against my will. Enh. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, as the saying goes. Enjoy!)

We don’t really celebrate Valentine’s day here at the Reilly household. No cards will be exchanged on Monday, and I don’t think I’m getting any flowers or chocolates. (Sure, last year Josh and I went to Boston for Valentine’s day weekend, but that was more about having a mini-vacation than anything else.) Josh hates the concept of Valentine’s day. He says it’s just a consumer-driven holiday meant to make him feel guilty about his lack of romantic abilities.

Hehe.

Speaking of non-romantic things, this afternoon we took a little trip to the mall. Why? To pick out a wedding ring for Josh. Wait… didn’t you already get married almost two years ago?? Why yes, dear reader, we did! It’s just that… Josh lost his wedding ring a few weeks ago. To quote the pushy saleslady at Zales: “I guess this is your Valentine’s day gift, huh?”

Hehehe.

So all this business about buying (second) wedding rings and celebrating Valentine’s day got me thinking about love, and marriage, and the business of “falling in love”. I don’t know how one falls in love. I don’t think there can be any specific recipe of moments or words or actions which causes love to suddenly appear between two people. All I know is that when I began to be friends with Josh, years and years ago, there was something about him that made me want to be around him all the time. Yes, he was funny and cute, and had a confidence in himself that was appealing. But all his good qualities put together couldn’t explain what it was that made me want to hug him, and hold his hand. It wasn’t long before we kissed, and I told him that I loved him. I was fifteen years old, and yet I knew it was true. I loved him.

And as it turns out, he loved me back. I don’t know how it happened, and I don’t know why it happened, but I do know this: I get to spend every day with my best friend, whom I love, and who loves me in return.

(Plus, he’s incredibly good-looking. Happy Valentine’s Day, buddy.)

The other night I was at home when the phone rang.

Me: Hello?

… Silence.

Me: Hello??

Woman’s Voice: Hello?

Me: Yes?

Woman’s Voice: Hi, this is Laura from “Great Expectations”!!!

… Silence.

… I wait for her to say something.

… She says nothing.

Me: Um. Yes?

… More silence.

… Now imagine the most condescending tone of voice you’ve ever heard.

Condescending Unknown Woman from “Great Expectations”: Am I speaking to a grownup?

Me: *SHOCK AND OUTRAGE*

Me: YES. This is a bad time.

I hung up the phone, half laughing and half extremely annoyed. Seriously. What the heck is “Great Expectations” anyway? And does she know she called at 9pm? I almost wished I had said something more along the lines of: “You are incredibly rude. You call my home at 9pm, don’t tell me who you are or why you are calling, and then ask me if I am a GROWNUP?”

I didn’t say any of that stuff. But I wanted to a little bit. Haha. Sigh.

(I still don’t know what “Great Expectations” is. No thanks to Laura. Damn grownups.)