Wednesday, February 9, 2011

I Have Super Powers ....

(let it be known that I tried for well over an hour to design a super logo with the letter W.  Huge, huge fail)


.... and so do you.

Some of you may be so new to this "club" that you aren't aware of your powers yet.  But you have them.  Oh you certainly have them.
In fact, the newer you are in the club, the stronger your powers are.  
And they are very, very strong.

My powers are starting to weaken, and I've lost one of them completely .... I think.
This was the power to ..... quiet a room full of people ..... just by walking into it!
I know!
But it really worked.
I also possessed the power to lower or heighten the temperature of a room of people, too, depending on what the temperature was before I entered it.
The effect I had on people was amazing.

I also had, and still do to some degree ..... the power to make people cry.
One look at me .... and they'd be off like sprinklers.
Seriously ..... one day I went into a store to buy some smaller sized clothes (the Grief Diet, you know).  It had only been a month or so since Jim died.
The woman who helped me to the dressing room knew all about me .... though I had never met her (it's a small community, I've lived here for 20 years, Jim was the school board president, yada yada yada).
As she hung up the clothes that I wanted to try on, she asked how I was doing.  I think I said something like, "Well, you know ....." and left it at that.
When I looked up at her she was crying.
Not just sniffling ..... crying.
It happened again in another store, but the woman who helped me that time was a friend.  I think she started crying when she saw me walk in.

I have sometimes used my powers to my advantage .... like letting my contractor get a more reasonable price for my kitchen granite by telling the granite owner that I was a new widow.  I totally let her play the "widow card".  And it worked (even though I shouldn't have needed to use it in the first place).  I have also given friends my permission to use this power.  You know ..... "Oh, I'm so sorry but I can't commit to that event because my friend's husband just died and I'm helping her."  I'm generous like that.

I realized early on that the biggest power I had .... and still have to this day .... is the power to totally ruin someone's day.
And by "someone", I mean a complete stranger.
I can do it in person, or I can do it over the phone.
I'm sure I could do it by e-mail and I'm positive I could do it through a text (Yes, I know this part is sounding like Green Eggs and Ham .... keep reading).

A few years ago it was almost impossible for me to not use this power.  I couldn't control it.  I was so new at this that I didn't know what else to say .... or how to react. 
It's done by simply saying, when asked about my spouse ...... "He died."  
See?  Just two little words (or some variation of them) was all it took.  I'm sure I sent many people home at the end of their work day, telling their families, "You'll never believe what I said today!".
Most people didn't deserve that from me, but some did.
Some totally asked for it.

Like a certain satellite company, which shall remain nameless (although it's synonymous with a word for a piece of table ware and a 1950's slang word for a cute girl ..... and NO, I wasn't alive in the 50's!).
Anyhow ..... I had to call them up to address a problem we were having and they asked to speak with Jim.  Yes, his name was on the account (his name was on ALL of the accounts .... so. much. fun.), but I was the only one who had ever called them .... to set up service and to make changes to our service.  I replied that no, they could not talk to him, but that shouldn't be a problem because they never had talked with him.
That didn't work.  This woman insisted that she had to get the OK from him.  We went back and forth a few times but she wouldn't stop being persistent so I finally said, "Look.  You can't talk to him.  It would be very difficult for you to talk to him because he's dead. He died a few months ago.  OK?  NOW will you let me tell you about my TV issue?!".
She was very, very sorry.
But evidently not sorry enough to make a note of Jim's demise.
Because it happened again, just a few weeks later.
And then ..... seriously, I kid you not ..... it happened a third time.  The third time was the last straw for me.  Too bad it just happened to be a nice-sounding young man who was holding that last straw.  I started crying and being angry the moment he asked to speak to Jim.  In fact, I'm not even sure that he got the whole question out before I went nuts.
Of course he felt horrible, but at least he DID make a note of it in the "system".  It was the last time they asked for him.

Now that I've had more experience on this path .... I've learned to have some control over this power.
Just a couple of weeks ago I could've trashed the day of a lively-sounding young woman who seems to gleefully work for my insurance company.
I called to drop one of the kids from my auto policy (because she has a job and a home and everything!  Can you hear the Hallelujah Chorus?!).  As this happy woman was looking at my info on her computer she said, ever so merrily ..... "Tell James happy birthday!"
I was stunned .... almost too stunned to be coherent.  I mean .... come on!  It's been over 3 years!  So I stammered, "Who?  James?  The one who's birthday is January 7th?" (because all 3 of our sons have James as their middle name, so I was giving her a little room to get out of this), but she replied ..... "Yes!" 
You'd be surprised at how many phrases can fly through your mind in a couple of nano seconds.  As I reflected over each one ..... and almost went with, "Well, that would be a bit hard to do since half of his ashes are in Oklahoma and half are at a lake in Texas!"
But I didn't.  
I stopped .... and thought, as I have many times in the past, "I really don't want to ruin her day."
And so I just said, "......OK." and left it at that.

Super powers.
We all possess them (I'd love to read about some of yours).
But we have to learn to control them.
And use them only for good.
Or ..... in extreme cases ..... for payback.
:)

P.S.  I'm glad that so many of you enjoyed this post and even happier that now you realize just how strong you are!!  And what great Super Powers you have!!
Today I remembered the MOST bizarre time that I could have used my powers .... but didn't.
Last year ..... two years after the man died ..... Jim received a jury summons in the mail.  My first response when I opened it ..... was just plain dumbfoundedness (yep, totally not a real word .... until now anyway:).  My plan was to use a huge red marker and write over the front of the summons ..... "I REFUSE TO SERVE ON YOUR JURY!  NOW WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?!"
Really.
But I didn't.  I just decided to wait .... and prayerfully hoped they'd put a warrant out for his arrest.  REALLY hopefully.  Alas, they did not ..... or at least, not yet.  But I still have that summons and it makes me smile every time I accidentally come across it.  :)

15 comments:

  1. Wow-have only been without my husband for 2 weeks but apparently you've been eavesdropping on my life!

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  2. Superbly said, Janine! Superpowers. Never thought of them quite that way. Maybe I should exercise them a little sometime before it is too late!
    And satellite companies seem to be the same both sides of the ocean. That was the absolute worst one when G died, and they would not let me do a thing because I didn't know his password. Many calls, screams, and tears later, I even had the collections man on the phone after telling them repeatedly that I was cancelling the direct debit. They wanted a death certificate. Words fail me.
    Have a told you recently just how much you make me smile? And how what a wonderful example you are? Or how proud I am of you? If I have, consider the words repeated again.

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  3. I love this so much! Even though I am a young, grieving daughter and not a widow, I can completely relate. And the way in which you wrote it is just perfect. Brilliant.

    I once posessed the ability to clear out every seat around a bar my junior year in college. The first thing I tended to blurt out to a goodlooking guy was that I lost my mom a month before. In case you are wondering, that is the WORST pick-up line ever. But I got a lot of free drinks and awkward hugs out of it :-) Thankfully, I now have that particular power under control!

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  4. All I can say Janine, is thanks for the smile this morning! I am going to spend the rest of the day thinking about "my" powers.

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  5. I'm at 15 months and it is really starting to bug me when mail still comes addressed to Jeff. I've called, written and practically stamped it on my forehead, but they just don't get it. There are maybe 3 or 4 organizations that just want to waste their postage on this crap because I won't open it. If they aren't thoughtful enough to put my name on their solicitation, it goes in the trash. It hurts to see his name on the mail.

    Jeff's best friend is an alcoholic. He calls me all the time just to chat usually after he's been drinking. He also calls and leaves Jeff messages on my answering machine. Pathetic messages like "it's my birthday - where are you?". Do I really need this right now? Of course I don't - I stopped taking his calls about a month ago as I just can't take it anymore. I feel guilty because he's so lonely, but I have no reserves, nothing else to give.

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  6. Anon ..... I know that I can't tell you how to feel, but I truly hope that you can stop feeling guilty about this totally self-destructive, self-absorbed person who should not be in your life. At least not now. You have to, and NEED to, be very selfish and protect yourself during this time. Grieving is the one time where selfishness is a must ..... in order to survive. His problems are just that .... his. Please don't take them on yourself. Concentrate on what YOU need, and who you need in your life. That's the only way to keep moving forward. Please, please, please take these words from someone who knows .... and believe them .... and live them.

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  7. I actually decided to not ruins someone day today. They were making a joke about my husband making me get permits from the county instead of him and I just said no he didn't make me, rather than let it all out. It seemed easier for everyone and I didn't want to delay the process.

    My last really good ruining someones day was the cell phone store. I was a mess the whole time.

    C'est la vie, right?

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  8. I'm "annonymous" from above. Thanks Janine. I can't tell you what your words mean to me. I've totally beat myself up over not taking his calls and I'm not going to do that anymore. I can't be his counselor or his friend right now. I just don't have the energy. It was good to come to this site today - I do appreciate your words of wisdom so much you have no idea (on second thought you probably do have an idea). :-) Thanks again.

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  9. Janine, the best time I used my super powers was when some political organization called asking me to get him for some survey. I responded You are very insensitive, because he is died! Another time that really got me angry was when my daughter's school sent a letter addressed to him and me about a year later! They should have not done this, because I had talked to everone there about the situation. But sometimes people do something that actually makes me feel better. The postal worker at our local office asked how my husband was doing, I did not even know she knew him. When I told her that he had dead, she felt awful, but I thanked her and said that it was nice that other people still thought about him since I still did.

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  10. I am laughing out loud as I am typing this! I still like the shock factor someitimes though. The look on some peoples faces are priceless. I will admit I used it today to get out of a huge co pay. Ah, what the heck. Been through all this hell on earth, might as well make the best of it when you can. Thanks for writing about what we all are feeling!

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  11. I still employ my super power of being able to silence a room now and then. Just to be sure I still have it ;) LOVE this post. We have to be able to laugh at this journey when we can, it keeps us semi-sane!

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  12. LOVE this post! I've never thought of "them" as super powers before but now I will! And at almost 23 months out, they'll bring a smile to my face when I think of them that way. Thanks Janine!

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  13. Loved this post, Janine. I didn't realize I had super powers, but I now know I've used them. With the bank that wanted to close our joint account, with the post office that didn't want to give me a certified letter in my husband's name, with the pool repair guy. After receiving 3 donation solicitation letters addressed to my husband from the hospital that sent him to hospice, I resorted to writing a letter. And just this week I came home to an answering machine message from a salesman at the Honda dealer where I bought my CRV 8 years ago. "Hi Dianne, just calling to say happy birthday. Not asking you to come in to look at a new car, just wanted to make sure you had a nice birthday." Ummmm...it was my husband's birthday, not mine. I decided not to use my powers that day.

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  14. P.S. I'm glad that so many of you enjoyed this post and even happier that now you realize just how strong you are!! And what great Super Powers you have!!
    Today I remembered the MOST bizarre time that I could have used my powers .... but didn't.
    Last year ..... two years after the man died ..... Jim received a jury summons in the mail. My first response when I opened it ..... was just plain dumbfoundedness (yep, totally not a real word .... until now anyway:). My plan was to use a huge red marker and write over the front of the summons ..... "I REFUSE TO SERVE ON YOUR JURY! NOW WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?!"
    Really.
    But I didn't. I just decided to wait .... and prayerfully hoped they'd put a warrant out for his arrest. REALLY hopefully. Alas, they did not ..... or at least, not yet. But I still have that summons and it makes me smile every time I accidentally come across it. :)

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  15. Love, love, LOVE this post! And you have no idea how badly I needed the smile it brought me today.

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