"May I Step In?"

The other day, I got a call from a woman saying, "Hi Victoria! I'm calling about your friend Amy. She's trying to win a prize and if you'll let me come over and demonstrate the Rainbow vacuum cleaner, you're going to help her be one step closer!" Ah, the dreaded sales pitch call.
Don't you just hate these calls? It puts you in the most awkward of situations. Ok, so I have two choices at this point.
#1. Tell her I've never heard of Amy. Or #2. Lie and say I don't like Amy.

Ten minutes later, the appointment was set. Have you ever said yes to something and then regretted it? No? Ok, maybe it's just me then. Liars! (LOL)
Our appointment day came and I was so tempted to cancel. I'm an extremely busy person (refer to blog "this one's for you!" if you don't believe me!) and the last thing I felt like doing was having a stranger in my house. I knew the deal. She would come into my "clean" house and use her Rainbow to vacuum my carpet to prove what a lousy housekeeper I REALLY am. I wasn't in the mood for this! I knew I would not only have to endure an hour and a half demonstration, but I would need to shake my head yes to her questions and try my best to look interested in this overpriced system (I actually do think they're worth every dime!). Did you know that the Rainbow can kill those disgusting dust mites that sleep in our mattresses? I figure let them be. They keep me company!
Anyway, the reality is that I am friends with Amy. I actually like her very much. And if I could help my friend out, what's a little bit of my time? When she arrived, I noticed from the window that she had brought her two children along. She carried in two unopened boxes that contained the Rainbow (I bet that she wasn't planning on carrying them back out!), set up for her demonstration, and proceeded to ask me for friend's names so that I could win my prize (be expecting your call any day now!). She turned out to be a sweet, pleasant lady and her children enjoyed watching Sponge Bob from my living room. This whole experience brought back a memory from my own childhood that I wanted to share with each of you.

When I was 7 years old, my father was a salesman for Electrolux vacuum cleaners. He was very good at it. Dad never met a stranger (hmm, I wonder who I got that from!). I was very proud of him and all the trophies he brought home from being top salesman of the month again and again! That's MY Dad!

I'll never forget the first time my father asked if I wanted to go with him on a Saturday morning to "work". I was thrilled. Are you kidding me? Any day that I could spend with my Daddy was a good day. I enthusiastically said yes!

When that Saturday morning arrived, Dad came into my bedroom at 6:00am to wake me up. He whispered in my ear, "Do you still want to go?" I immediately jumped out of bed! I had even slept in my clothes! I was ready! I was actually going to watch my Daddy work. I felt like the luckiest 7 year old in the world!

Now, these were the days of door-to-door sales calls. Here's how it works. You scope out a neighborhood and start a knockin'. And that's just what we did.

Before we walked up to the first front door, my father sat with me to give me my "sales training". He said, "Baby Girl, here's what you're gonna do. Every door we knock on today, I want you to look up, smile and bat those beautiful brown eyes of yours. And this is the most important part of all, LOOK HUNGRY!" Hey, I could do that. I WAS hungry. Dad forgot to feed me breakfast before we had headed out. (Hmm, I wonder, could he have done that on purpose?)

Dad then placed this huge, gold bible (yes, a bible!) under his arm, held onto the cute little black haired girl's hand (that was me!) and we started up the walkway to our first door. After my father gave his pitch to the lady of the house, (as he called her), convincing her that he had the answer to all of her problems, he would then ask, "May I step in?" I can't remember anyone turning him down.

So, now it was time to do my part. I was ready and did as I was told. I've always been a great student. I knew what to do. I smiled on cue, looked up and the easiest part....looked hungry. Dad promised that when we sold our first unit, he would take me straight to the store to buy me a Grape Soda and a pack of HoHos.......for breakfast!

It wasn't long into the morning before we made our first sale and headed to the 7Eleven. We ended up selling 4 vacuum cleaners that day! I drank and ate so much, I had a stomach ache, but I was proud of how I'd helped my Daddy "close the deal". I'll never forget those memories.

My father passed away 3 years ago this April. I miss him a lot. The pain is unbearable at times. Dad and I used to sit and talk for hours about that Saturday morning. We laughed so hard. It always made him smile. Thanks, Dad, for waking me up that day. I sure do miss you.

I imagine that when my Dad stepped into Heaven, batted his adorable, beady little eyes, smiled at the gatekeeper and asked,

"May I step in?" And I believe that's exactly what he did.