Two Broken Cameras, Two Lessons Learned

I don't think any of those who went will forget our trip to the Othello Tunnels this past August.

 

Today I am remembering it not because of our entourage of eleven children (although that always makes an event very memorable!),

 

or because--for the first time ever--I successfully led the way to a destination my sisters had never visited before.

 

I am remembering the day mostly because right after the kids climbed up onto this ledge,

 

and Holly and Janae were trying to climb this rock,

 

the picture-taking aspect of the adventure was cut short for me as I dropped my camera and damaged the lens beyond repair.

After an afternoon of melancholy despair, I realized that when my parents had bought my camera, they had also purchased an extended warranty.

I was able to take my camera back to Staples and have the camera replaced--free of charge.

Of course the cashier offered me an extended warranty to cover the new camera . . . and I did not hesitate to spend the $50. I knew how valuable such a warranty could be.

Well, today I went to take a picture of Alaina lounging on her tipped over toy shopping cart, reading a book and wearing a funny outfit she had put together to look like a mermaid.

This is a picture you will never see, because I found that somehow my camera had been broken.

Once again, some lens damage was keeping the camera from opening and closing properly, and it was impossible to take a picture.

Remembering my earlier experience, and the warranty I had bought, I went to my cupboard and got out the box where I'd put the receipt.

Except that it wasn't there.

I remembered I'd had two boxes, one from the old camera and one from the new. And as I searched my closet, several boxes, my file folder, and my pile of receipts that need to be filed, I came to the grim realization that I had kept the wrong camera box and lost/got rid of the one that held the warranty (it seems that when we moved I lost pretty much everything I don't use every day).

To make the situation more intense, I started wondering about how I was going to live without a camera, especially considering our upcoming trip to see my sister and her family in California (including a much-anticipated visit to Disneyland) next month.

So . . . after this frantic search, a few tears, and a lot of angry words directed at myself, I thought I'd try calling Staples to ask if there was any chance that my warranty was on file at the store.

The person I spoke to said that if I had registered the warranty online I would probably be okay. I had not. Then he said if I had paid with a credit card he might be able to help me.

I rarely use my credit card, but I thought I'd try giving him the number and letting him check if there was a record of a purchase of a warranty in what I thought was July 2011.

After a moment on hold, I received the good news . . . there was! The Staples employee gave me a few numbers I would need, and told me I was all set to get a replacement camera at the store!!!!!!

Have I mentioned that Staples is my new favorite store?

Or that I find it very hard to live without a camera?

We wouldn't want to miss any more mermaid pictures, or moments like this

 

or this,

 

or this,

 

not to mention our upcoming trip, with experiences like this,

 

and this,

 

and even this (Ben now claims that he danced with the Princesses at Ariel's Grotto only because he didn't like the food--but we have photo evidence suggesting the contrary . . . and documenting the crush on Snow White that he had at the time!).

 

Yes, we will definitely be making good use of our new camera.

And yes, we will be buying the extended warranty, registering it online, and keeping it in a very safe and very easy to remember place :)