February 2011

I called my auto insurance company yesterday to check some details.  “Oh, hi!  I see you’ve been a member of our insurance team since 2000”, chirped the cheery voice on the other end of the phone.

I needed a new yard rake so I whipped out my well worn home supply card only to hear the clerk inform me, “You’ve gotten all the good out of this card.  Let me help you order a new one.  You’ve been with us since 1990, so you deserve another.”

Later, the phone rang and against my better judgement I answered it instead of letting it go to voicemail. “Hey, haven’t seen you at the gym lately.  Your membership is paid, but we don’t ever see you!”

Memberships.  Keeping tabs.  A record of my behavior, good and bad.  It’s all out there.

It started me thinking.  What had been my longest membership?  It didn’t take long for one affiliation to stand out.  The Oops Club!  Oops, I was talking with my hands and spilled my soda.  Oops, I was talking instead of looking where I was going and stepped in something yucky.  Oops, I climbed on top of my dad’s tractor, unscrewed the gas cap, laid on top of the gas tank and sniffed it until I fell off.  Oops, still groggy I somehow decided the tractor needed to be personalized, so I took a nail and scratched my dad’s name in the paint.  Oops, indeed.  The Oops Club.  Lifetime member.

I guess my Oops track record explains my fascination with how well some folks can keep things looking so nice!  How do you make a home look so clean and nice and well kept despite kids, pets, slovenly spouses and house guests?  And, what about the sun, sand, hilarity and the it’s not mine, so what do I care vacation rental contingent?

It’s magic.  Mermaid Magic.  A couple of  really impressive secrets I’ve observed during my trips to Mermaid Cottages and Tybee Island…slip covers and quality upholstery fabrics keep even the highest traffic areas looking clean and beautiful.  That and a team of the best house managers on the beat!  No matter what Oops happens the Mermaid Cottages team has a remedy for it.

No Oops here.  Just Oohs and Ahs!