Learning New Tricks

I had evidence that I need to continually learn new things this past week.Until I moved into my house in Massachusetts, I had lived my life with heat coming through natural gas pipes or electric wires to my place of residence.  Maybe when I was 0-5 we had coal, but that is a vague memory and I wasn't responsible for ordering the coal.My daughter called me at work this week and asked:  Did you know they were coming to fill the oil tank today?My response was:  No.  I don't have to call them.  They just fill it when they need to.  They track the temperature and know when it needs to be filled.Her response was:  OK.  I went out and asked the man what he was doing.  He didn't seem real happy because he had to wade through 4 feet of snow to the back of the house with the long hose and dig out the place where the hose attaches.  He said he would appreciate it if we dug it out next time.Mmmmm.  I hadn't even thought about this when we got buried in snow again and again.  I didn't even know where the valve was on the back of the house!I immediately went and asked my colleagues about cultural protocols.  As it turns out, often those that deliver oil will not fill your tank if you haven't gotten the path and valve dug out for them.Bless the man who delivered the oil this last week while I was on a learning curve.  He showed us grace (and warmth).