Pleasing gone awry....

It's true. I h ate to admit it. But, I want to appear practically perfect in every way to every one at all times. Maybe I should bring this up in therapy.

So, a few weeks back, I was in Atlanta with my two sisters. I was driving in the car with my oldest sister when she mentioned the dilemma she was having with her new GPS. It is one of those talking GPS devices that tell you in its best flight attendant voice when to turn and how to get where you are suppose to be going. The problem was that when she disobeyed the GPS to pull off for gas or a bathroom break, it would become very obstinate in a very vocal way. We were laughing about how it would insist she turn around and the guilt she was experiencing by not following its every command. As I recall her exact expression was, "I am trying to please an inanimate object."

So, I found my own pleasing gene coming out this last week. Remember the curb and the tire and the strut and the spindle and the big expense that came with it all. Well, I had a friend ask me last night, "Why didn't you just file an insurance claim?" Um...because I've never filed an insurance claim. In my close to two decades of driving, I have never filed a claim. I have received one ticket, but I went to traffic school so that my insurance record would never see it. In fact, my husband and I are the coveted customers of every car insurance company out there. I am sure there are executives out there right now that have had full meetings on how to get and keep customers of such caliber. And, for some unknown reason, I didn't want to ruin that. I wanted to please some entity. I didn't want to worry about mentioning an incident when I called to price my insurance. I liked telling the phone representatives that we are perfect in every way that matters to them. Don't try to understand it.

So, last night, I did the math and realized they would have to raise our premium by a whole lot for a very long time to justify me not making a claim on this - even with the $500 deductible. So, I called. And I made our very first car insurance claim. And the girl on the other end was very nice and the whole process was extremely easy. And, if all goes well, we should be getting a decent sized check in the mail soon.

Now, if I can just figure out how to use this new found assertiveness towards the pest control salesmen that troll our neighborhood....