Let me tell you how mean I was….

Let me tell you how mean I was.

Went to the grocery store and, like many stores, it was short-staffed. Got my poison (Diet Dr. Pepper) and headed for self-checkout. Usually do credit, but had an abundance of dollar bills and decided to pay with cash. Wrong move! 

OK, yes, had just gotten new glasses, BUT for the life of me, I COULD NOT find the insertion point for cash. I’m bending over, looking at both sides of the machine, bobbing up, bobbing down, looking, looking, looking. And, let’s be honest, feeling rather stupid. (I HATE looking stupid! It reminds me of that little girl in me who can still feel powerless, even at my current age.) And, of course, more than anything else, I hate being CAUGHT looking stupid!

I pushed the button for assistance while my head seemed to spin on its axis (remember the “Exorcist?”) The guest services rep, in the cubicle across from me, was on the phone and could see my frustration. She kept pointing downward.  Huh? I’m looking at my feet. Nothing. Finally, bending my reluctant body down to a hair above knee level, THERE’S the cash insertion point. This was not ergonomically created for aging bodies.

The customer rep could likely read the angry look on my face as I glanced over my shoulder at her. If I were a cat, I’d be spitting. (Wait, do cats actually spit?)

Mission accomplished. Dollar bills gobbled down by the machine, Diet Dr. Pepper in hand, but now feeling sad about my angry reaction to the busy customer rep. She was helping someone else, but I walked over and verbally apologized for being so reactive. I could see her eyes soften as she waved at me with a thumbs up. And, yes, let’s be honest, I felt much better too. 

I hope the ripples of my “thank you” helped provide some ballast to her no-doubt harried day. And the ripples of my having said “thank you“ carried me out to the parking lot with a smile and a “Howdy” to those I encountered. We never really know how far the ripples of a kind act carry, but it’s still cheap therapy for the world (and, yes, for ourselves as well.) Doesn’t get better than that…