CONSISTENT PERSISTENCY

‘You don’t look like you have three children’ he stated after I put my shoes back into the coat closet. ‘Do you work out’, he asked as I wondered where he was going with this conversation.

The loud knock at the door startled me as I started my work day. I was uncertain who could want anything at this time of morning but when I opened the door, a man stood a few feet away from me with a mask and a dark shirt that looked official. He informed me that he was here to inspect the apartment and that he was speaking to the property manager shortly before coming upstairs to my apartment.

It was only yesterday that I called 311, the non-emergency number, to request an inspector for the old apartment regarding the mold. I was told that someone would get back to me within five business days, so when the man showed up this morning, I was surprised.

When I realised that he was here for the inspection, I let him know that I was going to change and take him to the other apartment. As I started to put on my shoes, he told me that I would need to call the Department of Health Services. He wrote out the website that I needed to access and was about to hand me the paper when he then turned the paper over and started scribbling something else.

‘Let me give you my number… just in case’. I wondered why I would need to call him until I then realised he kept eyeing me with a smile. At that point he seemed to forget about social distancing as he took off his mask and stepped closer to me to shake my hand. It all seemed a bit odd but I said goodbye and returned to my work and to finishing the draft of the email to the property manager I started last night.

The email went on to explain why I would not be able to move out by today. As much as I would have loved to include the part about the moving fairies and their sparkly wands, I decided to leave them out. But before I sent the email, I confirmed the moving dates available with the moving company. At first they had an opening for 5 July. A few minutes later I received an email that the date was just booked and that the next available date was 15 July. Just my luck, I thought. So I included that later date in my email to the property manager and hoped for the best.

My persistence paid off later in the day when I got a reply from the manager letting me know that after speaking with his regional manager, I would be allowed to stay at both apartments until 15 July whilst having to pay for only the new apartment. But the extra amount for the moving expenses would not be available unless I moved out a week earlier.

Once again I sent another email to the moving company asking them to let me know of any cancellations for an earlier date. The response was immediate. I was told that I was on a waiting list. A few minutes later my phone rang with the good news that there was a cancellation for the date I had initially been promised which means that now I have an end date to put this moving nightmare behind me.

In the meantime, another knock came at the door. This time it was one of the maintenance men coming to repair the shower which had no hot water pressure. After replacing some part behind the handle, he came to the conclusion that this did not fix the issue and that it might require more plumbing work. Great, I thought, but I could live with this for the time being.

After having been given more time to move, I decided to go to the pool with the kids after work. They were excited that I was not taking time to move today, as was I. Saffron worked on perfecting her handstand, Cinnamon kept diving into the pool with barely a splash, whilst Sage was having fun jumping into the pool. Afterwards we enjoyed dinner on the patio. Baby potatoes with ranch dressing and buffalo wing sauce from yesterday’s Chick-Fil-A order, one potato which somehow burst in the oven, and tacos. It was a great end to another challenging day.

Had I not kept insisting on what I believed was right with regards to the apartment, I might be paying for both apartments and the movers. Due to my consistent persistency, I am now able to enjoy the remainder of my summer with my children as the urgency has been removed as has the financial strain. We all have things at which we would like to excel. With persistence, we get closer to our goal. Being consistent keeps us succeeding.

Tonight’s musical selection is from Sam Tinnesz.