Making Lemonade

OK, so everyone has heard the saying “when life hands you lemons, make lemonade”. Recently, I was afforded the perfect opportunity to do so.

I am currently in the process of getting things in order to start making jewelry at home. I had taken a very long time to research kilns which can be used for PMC. After several weeks of visiting various sights, reading customer reviews and checking specs, dimensions and of course, price, I finally settled on what I believe is the best fit for me.
I place my order with a company that, until now, I was unfamiliar with. I chose this company because their site is easy to use, very helpful and full of resources. My order shipped the very next day.

It should be said, at this point, that I am not one to check my mail every day. Besides, in this case, I assumed the package would be left on the front porch. And now…another other expression we’re all familiar with: When you assume…

Three days later, I am pulling out of my driveway. My mailbox is directly in front of me, on the other side of the road. This road happens to be an extremely busy state highway. Additionally, we were in the middle of a three day storm that had begun the day before with freezing rain, followed by an inch of sleet and then six more inches of snow. This is what I saw:

“Are you kidding me?!?!” My first reaction is to find out the name of my carrier and make sure she gets a harsh reprimanding for her laziness, carelessness and general disregard for the property of others! However, I am thankful my package was not dragged down the road or shot thirty feet through the air by the snowplow!! So instead, I sat down and drafted the following email:

To which I got this response:

My lemonade was infinitely more enjoyable than anything I could have gotten from griping to the USPS. I am delighted to have made the decision to express gratitude rather than not. It feels really good to tell someone they are doing a great job. And a little gratitude can go a long way to keeping one’s energy flowing in a positive direction. Cheers!