That's a Y.P. not a M.P.

So I ordered a Mother-of-the-Bride gift back on March 11th.  The notes on the store said that it could take 9-12 business days before it ships out.  Plenty of time, right?

Yesterday, April rolled on in and I realized that I had never received notice of this gift shipping.  We are exactly 15 business days past the order date and no update.  I log onto my Etsy account and see that the item has indeed not shipped.  So I reached out to the Etsy shop called JBExclusives and write:

"Hi, I read the approx shipping time, and all of your notes, and ordered March 11th. It is 3 weeks later and this item has yet to ship.
Do you have any idea if it may possibly ship prior to the end of this week?
This is intended as a Mother of the Bride gift for my mother at my wedding in 2 weeks.
If you do not think you can handle an order for a gift, one month prior to its necessity, I'd appreciate a refund and a possible notice of it taking over a month to receive your orders within your shop."

Yes, I just re-read this and I do realize that it's abrupt.  I recognize it.  I'm already in disgruntled mode, simply reeking of it.

JBExclusives responds:

Hello,
 Thanks for contacting me. All 3/11 orders' approximate estimated ship date is 3/27. Your order will ship on 16th business days (4/2) at this moment. My apologies for the slight delay due to bridal peak season. I run 3 high volume shops on Etsy and can only provide approx. Ship date on all orders since it depends on daily order volume. I am working my full capacity while having a 15 month old baby that needs my attention. I am happy to cancel you order and offer the refund.
Thanks,
Jen

Ok, Jen, let me tell you what my immediate, doubly disgruntled self would like to say to you....

That's a Y.P., not a M.P.

Your Problem, not My Problem. 

You took my money, willingly, ably and under the guise of being able to complete this order, through your countless repetitive notes on your shop of how it takes 9-12 business days to ship.  I do not care that you have three burgeoning shops.  I do not care that you have a 15 month old.  What I care about is that you have my money and I have no gift for my mom.  Your inability to manage your time, your business and your family are your problems.  They are not my problems.  Maybe you need to do a little work on your time management.  Or maybe you should close down a few shops while you adjust to the strains of motherhood.  But whatever you do, it shouldn't involve my money, my time or my gift to my mom. 

Yes, Jen, you may cancel that order, which I assure you that you never started nor intended to start any time soon.

JBExclusives canceled that order and I had a refund within 6 hours.  THAT aspect the shop owner had on lock-down.

I then found an even better gift from a lovely store called KahiliCreations which has a delightful necklace containing a small section of the map of Princeville, Kauai, which is where we are getting married.  Perfect. 

I ordered it yesterday.  It shipped priority today.  That's good business right there!

What Are You Going to do After the Wedding? ...huh.

Being wedding-obsessed is somewhat fun.  Colors, flowers, musicians, food, planning, planning, planning....it's a good time for a creative person with too much creativity inside and nowhere to put it.  It's been thrilling.  It is my pièce de résistance. 

I wake up and have a purpose.  Today I need to pick a cake flavor.  Tomorrow I really need to make a flower choice.  By next week, we should really have that itinerary, itenerized.  Every day there is a new challenge for my bridal-mind.  I mean, I had a mini-celebration when I finally found the right nail color this week.  If you heard people shouting in the streets or any celebrations nearby, it was most likely due to the success of the perfect manicure.

One of my coworkers asked me this week: "What will you do once the wedding is over?"

I laughed it off and replied, "Oh, just go back to being peaceful and quiet. Duuuhhhh."

Inside, there was screaming, a panic attack.  Holy crap! At some point, this wedding shin-dig will be complete.  I'll be all married and my art, my purpose, my sole driving focus will have reached the pinnacle.  I will have crested and then comes the plummet....face-plant into life.

I see why so many women go into baby-making mode right after a wedding.  That's a sure-fire way to ensure a life long project of raising a child and having a purpose gnawing at you every day. I'm not going into that mode.....just yet.  We do want kids, but I'd still like to selfishly enjoy my hubby, just the two of us, for a little while longer, uninterrupted. 

Where this line of thought has taken me to is that I love having a font of creativity.  This continual drive to focus, plan, divine into being, has been a breath of fresh air.  I like having something to do.  A sweet little project which keeps me humming about and feeling useful is nice.  I get so caught up in work and the daily grind that I end up putting all of my energy into earning a paycheck and paying my bills, that my artistic side withers and wastes away...forgotten.

I'm going to relish this planning time and my all-encompassing need to plan and be involved in creating my dream wedding to my favorite human.

But all of my friends and family ....beware.  Once I'm all married and back in LA as Mrs. Vital, I will be looking for personal projects and you might just get dragged in.