Rituals

We have our morning rituals.
All of us in our home are creatures of habit and enjoy our patterns for the most part.
Rick and the dog both like their habits and I find them comforting as well.

In the morning I don't like to be chatty Cathy like my husband.
He wakes up all happy and whistling and singing and I want to punch him.
After my 2nd cup of coffee I begin to chat.

By the time he is leaving for work I ask the same questions every day.
You would think by now he could remember these things on his own wouldn't you?
He rolls his eyes most days but it never fails that he has forgotten something.

Rick do you have your cell?

Of course I do Margaret - right here on my hip.  He always smiles that mischievous smile when I ask him this like a kid who did something wrong.

Rick did you read all the work orders in case you have any questions?

No worries I'll be fine.

Rick do you have your extra XYZ product because remember this home has a baby and you'll want it on the truck.

Thanks I remembered and I read it on your paperwork!  I appreciate it, he says with another eye roll.

Okay that conversation is how it works maybe once a year.

Normally it goes like this.

Rick do you have your cell?

Oh yea....as he walks back to the charger to get it laughing. I laugh too because seriously people, every day I have to ask him this! Every day!

Rick did you look over the work orders? Do you want to go over anything so you don't have questions and have to call me?

Oh shit I didn't look at them. He puts his water jug, his binder, his lunch cooler down and now reads them making him 5 minutes late. For "Mr. I must be on time or all hell will break lose" He is now in a panic. Then he just grabs everything and says, I'll  just call you if there are issues.  Of course there will be issues. Why he asks for this information on there if he isn't going to read it drives me bat shit crazy. Yet he doesn't look at them without being told.
I'd fire him if I could.

Rick don't forget to put the XYZ off the shelf from the garage in the truck for this job because you will need it, they have a baby.

Jeez, now I'm going to be late. Damn it why didn't you tell me that earlier.

Its on the work order just like you ask for it to be so if you read them you would know.

Yep this is mucher closer to how my morning ritual actually goes.
Mr. Happy Singing and Whistling man becomes an idiot.

Yesterday morning I was not home when he was leaving.
He left his phone here and who knows what else.
Once I zeroed in on that phone I didn't continue to look at his trail of items left behind.
I came back into the house at 8:15am and saw his phone in the charger.
I just shook my head and said, This is going to be a bad bad day for us.

I get to the office at 8:30a and there is already a voicemail.
It is Rick's 2nd appointment who forgot he has physical therapy and won't be home.
He wants to reschedule for later if possible.
Sure, but now I can't call Rick to tell him not to drive to that city because the customer won't be there.  I instead call the customer to reschedule him and thank him for the heads up.

Next I call the 1st customer and I tell her that Rick left his cell at the office and when he is finished if she could please have him call his office.
I felt silly and unprofessional to do that but what other choice did I have?

Thankfully she laughed and said she would indeed tell him to call when he completed the job. She was laughing when she said with such pity to me. "you poor thing it's like you have a 2nd husband you have to take care of." 
I laughed and said, "Oh you have no idea!"

She doesn't know he is my husband because if she did I would tell her working with ones mate is sometimes very frustrating.
I'm sure Rick would say the same thing like when I send him to the wrong address.
But I'm not telling you that story today.

So yesterday when all of our morning rituals were turned upside down our whole life went off kilter. Rick was out there with no phone. He couldn't call a customer if running early or late. He couldn't call in for messages.  Without a phone he couldn't take credit cards and the customer had to call the office to give me the cards. No phone meant he didn't have his contacts while on the job for other contractors numbers if necessary....and it was necessary.

He called me from a customers home from their phone. Our conversation was making me laugh. He had on his professional voice and was speaking to me like I barely knew him and I got what was going on. I just had to play with him. He was asking for this company's phone number to give our customer to help them with some additional work.
I, of course, did not help him by whispering, "whatcha wearing big boy?"  and a few other dirty ditties. I know not nice but c'mon it was fun and he deserved it a bit. 
He just kept talking in his professional manner in front of  the customer and I kept busting his balls. Okay that was mean but way too much fun and easy.

I envisioned him coming home a bit cranky, but he surprised me.
Mr. Forgetful arrived at home tired with no whistling or singing at the end of his day.
But with his humor in tact.
His mean wife just kept laughing.

This morning we went through our ritual list.
Today should be smooth sailing.