Unexpected blessings

You know when you have those moments when a great many things seem to go wrong all at once? Or life just seems to be more stressful than usual? For military wives, they usually happen as soon as the husband deploys. We've had a few things break or just not work properly all at the same time in addition to a schedule that was exhausting last week. I was finding myself getting frustrated by it all and reacting very badly. After (finally) getting a decent night's sleep I was able to focus on the bigger picture and be properly ashamed of my crankiness. I reminded myself that all is in God's hands, that I need to trust in Him always, and that, despite the minor setbacks (and they were minor), we are very blessed.

In short order, our not-very-old printer and our very new computer decided that they would no longer work together, our very new camera was mis-behaving, then said camera and computer would not cooperate with each other, and my plam pilot died - again. Mind, that Palm is the other half of my brain, and this is the 3rd one I've gone through (Best Buy has an awesome warranty program).

On the other hand...

We have a home and heat.

We are all healthy.

We are surrounded by loving Christian friends and neighbors.

We live in a country where we are free to celebrate our saviour's birth.

I will not stress.

I will have faith.

Even when all of my electronics are staging a rebellion at the same time.

So last night we went into Best Buy, I handed them the Palm, Geek Squad did their thing and they decided that it needed to be sent out for repair. If it was not repairable, I would get another new one. I said thanks, but no thanks, could I possibly get store credit and look for something else? I mean this is the THIRD one I've gone through. I love the Palm operating system but they seem to just die after 15 months.

You know what?

They said, "sure, what were you thinking of getting?"

I had no idea.

I wasn't planning on a new organizer.

I'll just have a look around.

"Okay ma'am let us know if we can help you find something"

WOW!!!

I immediately thought of the Palm phone. They are made for Sprint, they have great reviews, I wanted one last year when we upgraded phones but my Palm was still new and I could not justify it. So I went and looked.

$519.00

Okay, maybe not.

I got some help and I looked at the PDA's and all the store had was Palm products or Apple products. We were not interested in changing phone carriers so Apple was out of the question. I told the guy what I was thinking, who our carrier was, and he asked if we were eligible for an upgrade.

He checked.

We were.

I could have the $519 phone for ... FREE.

Huh? Free? Seriously?

So he pointed out the fine print that I missed because I was shocked by the original price. If we extend our contract we get the phone for free. That's not a big deal, we didn't have any intentions of cancelling phone service any time soon. And, oh by the way, your husband's line is eligible for an upgrade as well.

So I talked Ben into getting a new Palm phone as well. It didn't talk much talking. He has been needing an organizer, he uses his phone as a calendar, and it was free.

So, after all of that phenomenal customer service, and Ben insisting he wasn't actually in the market for a new phone, we are the proud owners of two new Palm phones. Mine is berry, his is black, and they are cool.

$1100 worth of phones for free.

I still have a $200 gift card to Best Buy.

And, oh by the way, the printer started working again this morning.

Definately, not sweating the small stuff.