Being Heard

((WARNING -- this turned into a really long post, so hopefully I won't put you to sleep! LOL))

By nature, I am not a confrontational person. As I get older, I do feel I have an easier time speaking my mind, but still – I’m kind of a wimp when it comes to speaking up or complaining about something. I let little things slide most of the time. This is the complete opposite of my husband who in my opinion tends to be TOO much the other way. He can make a mountain out of a molehill like no one else I know. We frustrate each other quite frequently in this regard.

Just a few days ago, I threw my family for a loop with a different-than-normal reaction. And it was over something as silly as attempting to use a reading award my son had received at school. It was a certificate for a free Personal Pan Pizza at Pizza Hut.

These certificates have a spot on the back that says what month the child is being awarded for and underneath there is a line where the teacher fills in the date she awarded it. The fine print right underneath the date says, “expires one month from date received”. Seems pretty self explanatory, right? Normally the teacher will hand out the certificates a week or two after a particular month ends. So for example – Friday, my son brought one home for his achievements in March. So she wrote “April 11” as the date awarded, meaning it will expire May 11. Easy, right? Not really.

On Friday I attempted to use another certificate that expired April 11th. But the manager at Pizza Hut told me they didn’t go by the expiration date. They go by the month circled and he told me I’m supposed to use it in the month circled.

I then tried to explain to him that this makes no sense, seeing as the month circled has already passed – the kids have to get through the entire month before being awarded. He would not even listen to me. He kept cutting me off and he told me I needed to set the teacher straight because he had informed his entire staff to do it his way.

I could not believe he was arguing with me over a free Personal Pan pizza for my eight-year old son. And might I add that I decided to buy pizza for the whole family since I was using the certificate – so I was spending another $15-$20 at his store that I probably would not have spent otherwise. Why would he not consider that?

The manager did let me use the certificate in the end, but he gave me a stern warning to not try again. As we drove away I muttered under my breath “What IS his deal?” That’s all I said – and my oldest son said, “Mom – what are you saying? That’s not like you. You’re kind of scaring me.” I had to laugh – the kids really are not used to me reacting in such a way. I also sent a complaint by email to Pizza Hut – which completely freaked my husband out. LOL

As I think about this whole ordeal it makes me laugh. It’s a pizza for goodness sake – does it really matter? No. But what I think really got me was the fact that the man would not even LISTEN to me. I wasn’t being argumentative – I was trying to explain something. And he made up his mind to disagree with me before I even started. I hate that.

But guess what? I’m sure I’ve been guilty of it many times myself. I haven’t listened when I should have. I’ve cut my kids off before they could tell me something. I’ve tuned out someone who I was sure was wrong because darn it – I was right. I know I’ve done it.

SO – there we have it – the point of my ridiculously LONG post. Sometimes people just want and need to be heard. And maybe, if we let them talk – we’ll learn something and realize we needed to hear it. I hope to be more conscious of that. It’s not fun to feel ignored. I don’t want to be guilty of making another person feel that way. So even though I’m still just a little bit miffed at Mr. Pizza Hut – I guess he taught me a lesson and served as a reminder of something I need to work on.