In contemplating possible additional resolutions, I sadly came up with an endless supply of ways I could improve myself. However, I wanted to pick just the right third resolution. I wanted to push myself, but not too hard. I wasn’t talking about the, “don’t eat sugar all week” sort of challenge, but definitely something more difficult than, “wear sunscreen every day” (which I almost always do anyway).
Being early in the process of setting weekly resolutions, I wanted to make sure I selected something that would provide me with another early success. Looking around my living room, the decision became easy. I was going to do those things that I have continued to put off for way too long.
The things that I am talking about, are like a pebble in your shoe. When you’re out for a hike and you feel it, it’s not that difficult or time consuming to stop and shake it out. But instead, we continue walking and being annoyed at the pain it is causing.
Sometimes, the pebble is like a grain of sand. Other times it’s more like a boulder. All of us have them. It’s the junk drawer that never gets organized, the pile of records that have yellowed while waiting to be filed, or the tiny nail hole in the wall that has been staring at you for months, but you have yet to fill it with putty.
I may have a few more of these than the average person and I may be a bit of an expert at continuing to put them off. Therefore, I greeted my third week of week-long resolutions, with a commitment to tackle things I have should have done a long time ago.
I started with a hula skirt. I had taken hula over a year ago. Everyone in the class had a hula skirt except me. One of my fellow students had a spare, and she loaned it to me. Then I stopped doing hula. I lost track of the student. I lost track of the skirt. When it resurfaced, I moved from the spare bedroom to the kitchen, to the back of a dining room chair, and back to the kitchen. I was certain that seeing it every day, would inspire me to return it. It didn’t
In the spirit of doing what I had put off for too long, I resolved to return the skirt. It should have been an easy task, but I didn’t exactly remember the name of the person who loaned it to me. After a bit of digging, I found an old email that was sent to the halau (hula class members). I read all of the member’s names and after a great deal of thinking, surmised that Nancy was fellow student who loaned me her skirt. I emailed her.
I heard nothing until the next day, but there, like a beacon of light, was a response in my inbox. Yes, it was her skirt. Yes, she did still live in town. And, yes, she would like the skirt back. Not only that, she was going to be home that afternoon and was in the neighborhood where my writers group meets. 3 hours later – skirt delivered!
On to pebble number two. The yellowing bill at the bottom of my inbox. I had received a medical bill for a procedure that insurance should have covered. These situations always cause me pause – do I call the insurance company first, or the medical office? I sorrowfully, have had to tackle this sort of a challenge more than once, but can’t remember the protocol. I began my preparations.
I gathered the bill from the medical office. I pulled out my insurance card. I unfolded and reviewed the Explanation of Benefits, which indicated that the clinic had billed the wrong insurance. I grabbed the phone and sat down with a cup of tea and beautiful music playing –to make the whole experience more pleasant.
Feeling completely prepared, I picked up the medical bill to find the phone number to call. I found a website, I found an email address, and I found a fax number. What I didn’t find, was a phone number. I looked again, turned the paper over (the back side was blank) and I looked once more. Definitely no phone number.
I removed myself from the beautiful setting and retrieved my computer. I carefully entered the listed email address. Still no phone number, but I found a form to complete in case of a discrepancy. I filled in the date of service, my insurance ID and the amount of my incorrect bill. I explained how they had made an error. I hit Send and stared at the screen, and then I proceeded to wait.
It didn’t take long to realize that it was unlikely I would get an immediate response. I refused to let the day pass without taking care of one more pebble. So instead, I returned to my inbox, paid a couple of bills, called to check on my credit card balance, and addressed two envelopes with belated birthday cards inside.
Two days later, the insurance company responded. My issue was resolved. I finished off the week by cleaning out the rest of my dusty inbox items. For extra measure, I reorganized the office supplies in my printer cabinet (after I moved it from one end of the house to the other). There was a reason I had not done those things for way too long. They were tedious, time consuming, difficult, challenging, or just plain not fun. It ended up being way more arduous than I had anticipated
I had hoped that finally completing these “pebbles” would be reward in and of itself. It wasn’t. I’m off to get a massage before I tackle resolution number four.
