So...I left my house at 10:15p this evening to get this weeks grocery shopping done. You may ask..."Why on a Friday night are you going shopping?!?!?" Well, we have a pretty busy day tomorrow, and Sunday is Mother's Day. I REFUSE to grocery shop on Mother's Day. So, I prepared my list beforehand and off I went.
When I started the only "trouble" I had was maneuvering around the stockers and their stacks of stuff to restock the shelves. Nothing too troublesome. In fact, I remember thinking "This is pretty calm. No people. I can find what I need. Cool!" So here I am taking my sweet time, going through my list...getting this and that. Remembering we were almost out of eggs, and it wasn't on the list. Remembering that I wanted to color my hair. Yada, yada, yada.
Then it was time to checkout. I will say I am a VERY polite shopper. I patiently wait in line minding my own business, and busy myself on Facebook. Of course, there are only 4 lanes open, and each one has 4 or more people. I pick the one that is the shortest, and wait. My checker wasn't overly happy, nor was she rude. She was there, its 11:30p now, and she's probably tired. Whatever, no bother. I play on my phone some more.
It took about 20 minutes before it was my turn. I notice the person behind me only has 2 containers of salt, and I had a cart full, so I let him go ahead. He was very nice, and grateful that I let him through. I put up the divider, and start putting my stuff on the belt. Trying to keep the shelf items together, trying to keep the cold stuff together, cleaners together, produce together, freezer stuff together...all in an effort to make the checker's job easier. I then put another divider up for the person behind me so they can start putting their stuff on the belt. Like I said, polite shopper. At this point I hear some ladies in the lane next to me start to complain. I can't really make out what they were saying, but there was an anger of tone and hate that I didn't like at all. But...its midnight, and the "crazies" are out, so who am I to say anything. I push my cart up, lift the 18pk of Gatorade up for the checker, and mind my business. I do have a family to get back to safely.
I hear one of the two ladies say pretty loudly "Oh my GOD, we have GRANDMA for a checker, and have been in line for !#$%$^ ever!!!" No common decency for the people around them, the kids in my line, or the near 70 year old woman working at Wal-Mart at midnight checking out their 3 full carts of stuff!!!!! So, at this point I am distracted, and almost wanted to go help the poor woman. But a manager came over and "took over" and the sweet lady slipped in the back. I pay for my stuff, and roll my cart to my car, and load up the groceries.
By now, lots of "crazies" have shown up. My definition of a "crazy" is fairly loose. It's the pack of teens, the college drunkos, the families trying to rush to get stuff, etc. We have all been there at some point in our life. I am happy to be leaving, but can't get that lady out of my head. As I was putting my groceries up I noticed under my purse were those darn eggs. Eggs that I didn't pay for. At first I thought "Sweet, free eggs." But 2 seconds later I felt guilty, and returned my cart to the stall, and walked back in with my unpaid eggs. I see the greeter that just said goodbye to me, and he looks at me like "Why are you back?" So I explained that when I was putting my groceries in the car I realized these eggs were hiding underneath my purse and I didn't pay for them, and he goes "Wow, well....the lines are still pretty long..." and looks at me as if I should just walk right back to the car with my eggs. Let me add, he even motioned with his head for me to go back out the door. I told him "I just couldn't eat these eggs without feeling guilty. I'll wait."
I went back in line, 3-4 people deep, and the person checking out has a cart full, but they are paying. The second person in line has some soda and chips, and then the next person has a cart full, and is a family of 4. And...so i wait. Now...does the family even look to see if I have 1 item? No. And they don't even have any of their food on the COMPLETELY empty belt yet. And I wait. They waited for the 2 people in front of them to check out and pay before putting stuff on the belt. Now, its highly possible that I am irritated at this point and I am being super critical, but its MIDNIGHT I wanted to be HOME!
I check out. Take my eggs to the car, and think about the old lady all the way home. How hard must her life be that she is working at Wal-Mart at midnight on a Friday night? How hard must it be that when she is there, people are so rude to her? I just wanted to give her a hug, and learn more about her life. I find solace in knowing that I did all I could to be polite, and thankful, and appreciative of all the people who stock shelves, check people out, and make my life easier. Even my not-so-excited checker. I smiled, said thank you and moved on quickly. I mean how many places can you go where you can buy hair color, lawn fertilizer, toys, clothes, movies, and GROCERIES at midnight?!?!?! I guess the "price" you pay is having to deal with the crazies, and the rude people.
I urge you, my very small group of followers, to take a moment to look your checker in the eye and say "Thank you. Have a great evening."
We all have many, many things going on in our lives. Even more than what we can imagine. We all have stress in one way or another. Whether it be stress from work or from stuff going on at home. Or both. We owe it to everyone to have common decency. Maybe you don't go out of your way, but at least be nice and polite to the people around you. The way I was raised is easy. You use your manners. Say please and thank you, and realize that your actions affect others. I just don't know what happened or where it went haywire, but people are mean, rude and think their world revolves strictly around them. Am I perfect? Heck no! But I am stopping now to think about my actions.
Now, of course, I am not talking about YOU reading my blog. You're perfect ;). But the others you see, the people in the checkout lines. The people you see everyday, but then walk by you as if you don't exist. The people at the mall that bump into you and don't even look or apologize. The people on the highway that think they are the only person that has somewhere to be. The people in the car line at McD's where they are in the 2nd lane and CLEARLY were behind you, and then push their way forward fighting to be first. I mean REEEAAAAAAHHHLY, is your coffee THAT important? If you are late, why are you even in the drive-thru? The sales lady at clothing store that is just trying to make a sale because she has babies to feed. The car salesmen or the furniture stalkers that have quotas to meet so they can keep their job in this tough economy. The customer service person that you spoke with to fix your phone...OK wait...I have to draw the line there. I listen and critique people for a living on their customer service skills on a phone. I can't make an excuse for that. At least not at the moment. Not in a public forum where it can used against me in the future.
Basically, all my ranting is to hopefully get 1 person to stop for a second and think...yeah maybe THAT person has feelings. Maybe THAT person had a night where their baby was up crying all night. Maybe THAT person left their house this morning after a fight with their mother, brother, cousin, husband. Maybe that person has bigger issues than you, and might like a smile instead of a butt chewing. Common decency. Where did it go?
