When Things Go Wrong

We have just experienced the few really cold days we have in an Arizona winter – cold enough to leave ice on the windshield and frost on the lawn. The bougainvillea froze but will grow to be vital and beautiful again after we trim it down in a few weeks. A few bushes froze but we had intended to replace them so that’s o.k.

On the first of the coldest days, we had no heat. The heating system for the house would not make it through the night. The fan would blow cold air but the heat would not come on. I learned that if I turned it off and then back on, it would heat for a while and may or may not go off again. The first day the repairman came, he said we needed to clean the filter – cleaning the filter would take care of the problem. Wrong. We had them back – this time a different repair man came. He made two trips out for parts and that repair didn’t work. He had to order a new board and would come back as soon as he had it. Two days later he returned to install the new board. That night was colder than ever.The fan wasn’t even blowing cold air. It was dead and it was cold.

The repairman returned. He had not tightened a screw tight enough to hold the wire and the wire came lose. We breathed a sigh of relief and settled in to enjoy a nice warm house. That night was wonderful. The next night was cold. There is still a problem Sometime during the night the heating stops and the fan continues to blow cold air. When the cold wakes me up I get up (at 3 or 4 a.m.) and turn the thermostat off and then on again and we wake up in a warm house otherwise it’s simply cold. After doing this night after night I’m cranky.

I will call them again today to let them know the problem still exists.

Now I don’t know about you, but I’m really bothered by the cold. Heat makes me uncomfortable but the cold is painful. And after living in Arizona for over forty years, I don’t adjust well to cold. So this was an adventure that I didn’t find all that much fun.

It’s hard to look for the positive lessons when your teeth are chattering uncontrollably and it’s hard to move because you have so many layers of clothes on. But there are always positive lessons.

How I react when things go wrong is a clear indicator of where change is needed. It is a clear road map to areas for self improvement. So what were my reactions? I’m not worried about becoming angry after three weeks of having repairs on one simple little heating unit.  Sometimes anger is o.k. I stomped around a bit and got it out of my system. What I learned about me is:

I don’t handle discomfort well. I need to toughen up a bit. When I’m uncomfortable I don’t need to announce it to the whole world (I really only announced it to two people and that just made me more uncomfortable).

I take some things for granted that I should remember to be grateful for – like having heat in my house and, generally not having to worry about it. I will be more diligent about checking the box on my utility bill that gives a donation to help those who have trouble paying for heat or cooling (cooling in AZ is most important).

Allowing myself to become cranky does not fix the heating unit and makes me and those around me more uncomfortable. I am responsible for my own emotions and how I handle them. It’s hard for me to choose not to be cranky – it’s easier to spout off to anyone who will listen. But I don’t like that and neither do they.

The situation was not without humor. I need to focus on the humor more and the discomfort less.

Hopefull I will  do better in the next situation. But I have to get this one solved first. Oh, it’s just after 8 a.m. I can call the repairman one more time. Wish me luck!

About Irene: Irene Conlan has a master's degree in nursing, with a major in nursing administration and a minor in psychiatric nursing. She taught nursing at Arizona State University, served as Director of Nursing Administration at St. Luke's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix and served as Assistant Director of the Arizona Department of Health Services for the Division of Health Care Facilities and Emergency Medical Services. She is also a certified hypnotherapist with a practice in Scottsdale, AZ. She is an avid blogger and manages http://www.theselfimprovementblog.com, http://www.theselfesteemblog.com, http://www.thepositivepsychologyblog.com Irene lives in Scottsdale AZ and has two sons and three grandsons.