How Do You Pull Yourself Out of the Pit?

Some of you may remember my story about credit card fraud which you can read here.    Two men charged a few thousand dollars for jewelry at our store and then called their credit card company and 'reported' that they were never in the store.  The credit card company gave them their money back which means they have the merchandise plus their refund.  I spent over 30 hours on the phone (mostly on hold) over the course of a few days fighting this and was finally able to connect with a supervisor in Visa's fraud department.  What he told me was shocking!

Credit card companies will always side with the cardholder -- even when it is a fraudulent card.  It is the 'rule of law' initially set up.  Going to court to fight that decision would only be a waste of time and money.  The agent was apologetic but explained that is the law and there is nothing we can do about it.  The first time this happened to us, it cost us $6,000.  Now.....it happened again.  These thieves hit several stores in our small town the same day -- we are all up the proverbial creek.  Does that seem fair?

In the meantime, we sold a guitar amp on eBay which we hoped would help recoup our losses.  The buyer decided he did not want to keep it and sent it back but didn't pack it well and this is how it arrived.

He then contacted eBay requesting his refund even though USPS kept the item as it was severely damaged.  The jerk demanded eBay give him his money back and they did -- even though I had been assured and reassured by eBay this would not happen until this case was settled.  The right hand certainly did not read the notes that the left hand wrote and some idiot gave him the refund without confirmation.  Another $1,000 loss.  

I spent another 20+ hours on the phone trying to resolve this with eBay.  It is really exhausting, frustrating and certainly UNFAIR! 

No matter what happens......

Even on the rough days, these grands cheer up their gramma.  In the end -- it is all that matters.  When our kids do something unexpected,  it can sometimes come as a shock.  But when my grandkids do something extraordinary, I am rarely shocked.  Amazed -- but not shocked.  

Pout much?

My daughter lives on an island and we live on a peninsula.  We are only 22 actual miles apart but it takes a minimum of 5 hours to make the trip by ferry.  During busy times like Father's Day or summer, it can easily take seven hours for the short jaunt.  Rochelle suggested we meet for Father's Day dinner on the mainland between the island and the peninsula.  

At the ferry terminal, there is a large park and several restaurants.  We had dinner and played in the park for a couple hours.  Every minute was special.

I have often shared stories of how kind and thoughtful six-year-old William is but when Rochelle shared what he does each morning, I was, once again, amazed.....

Before Rochelle wakes up, William gets himself up (remember-- he's six), gets dressed for school, makes his lunch and his breakfast AND a cup of coffee for his mom.  Then he takes the coffee to her bedroom and wakes her.  I think you will agree with me -- he is something pretty special.

Have you had months like this?  This was only a couple examples of how the month went down -- I need a break!  

I love Fly on the Wall posts.  It is a chance to read the stories of fellow bloggers and what happened in their lives during the course of the previous month.  I hope you will enjoy these stories too!

Baking In A Tornado

Menopausal Mother

Spatulas on Parade

My Brand of Crazy

Some photos courtesy of nbcnews.com or moneymax.ph