Day 191 of 365 - Patience, People
It's Saturday shopping. I'm in a checkout line at the big drug mart. The cashier is a newer one and she chooses not to bag purchases for those who bring their own bags. She quickly scans my items through and piles them to one side. I can't decide whether to start packing my bags or wait until I pay. She's impatiently waiting for me to pay and now a line is building up beside me. I pay, quickly jam things into bags and apologize to the next person for holding them up.
Then it's off to the grocery store where I like taking my time to look over items before choosing. I get in a checkout line. I just have a hand held basket but the next people in line have full carts. Again, the cashier quickly swipes all the items through. This store is a bag your own operation, so that's a given. The pressure here is to clear the conveyor belt and get the heck out of the way before a big cart gets shoved towards me. I load up and scurry off, feeling like I've been in some kind of race.
Both those shopping scenarios were quite irritating to me. Why is there this sense of pressure at the checkout? Will something horrible happen if someone has to wait a couple of minutes? Is some of the pressure just fabricated in my own mind? Why do I feel a sense of urgency?
On another Saturday, today as it happens, I am shopping in the same two stores. At the drug mart, a senior lady who for some reason only has the use of one arm is at the checkout, with the same cashier I had before. She very slowly goes through the motions of making her purchase. The cashier is clearly impatient and trying not to show it. A line builds and she calls for backup. I'm able to move to another checkout where I'm able to see the action of the still unfolding purchase. I see the sweetest thing. Behind that lady there is a man in line with his arms full of paper products. He reassures her that it is fine for her to take just as long as she needs. The cashier is fake smiling and nodding in agreement.
Then off I go to the same grocery store as before. This time, I'm in the express checkout line with my small basket. But ahead of me, making her purchases, is a woman in an electric wheelchair. The price of one of her items does not scan and the cashier calls for a price check. A line is building. It's supposed to be express after all. I can feel the tension rising. The lady making the purchase is able to get out of her chair and moves very slowly to pay and to pack her bags. She has some special form of payment to make too which takes extra time. Then, when she gets her receipt, she looks it over carefully and wants to ask a question about why there was tax on an item. The cashier is being very patient with her. Finally she's satisfied, gets back in her chair and heads out. People can rush through the line once again. All is not lost!
I think it is so interesting the way everyday life provides us with exactly the lessons we need to be learning. I was fascinated watching those ladies go about their business, seemingly not feeling any undue pressure to move along. I wonder if they used to be just as impatient as most other people, whether their disability has taught them the value of just taking your time without feeling distressed about it. I'd like to think I could learn that lesson without becoming disabled to do so. Maybe we could all practice a little more patience, both with ourselves and with others.
Then it's off to the grocery store where I like taking my time to look over items before choosing. I get in a checkout line. I just have a hand held basket but the next people in line have full carts. Again, the cashier quickly swipes all the items through. This store is a bag your own operation, so that's a given. The pressure here is to clear the conveyor belt and get the heck out of the way before a big cart gets shoved towards me. I load up and scurry off, feeling like I've been in some kind of race.
Both those shopping scenarios were quite irritating to me. Why is there this sense of pressure at the checkout? Will something horrible happen if someone has to wait a couple of minutes? Is some of the pressure just fabricated in my own mind? Why do I feel a sense of urgency?
On another Saturday, today as it happens, I am shopping in the same two stores. At the drug mart, a senior lady who for some reason only has the use of one arm is at the checkout, with the same cashier I had before. She very slowly goes through the motions of making her purchase. The cashier is clearly impatient and trying not to show it. A line builds and she calls for backup. I'm able to move to another checkout where I'm able to see the action of the still unfolding purchase. I see the sweetest thing. Behind that lady there is a man in line with his arms full of paper products. He reassures her that it is fine for her to take just as long as she needs. The cashier is fake smiling and nodding in agreement.
Then off I go to the same grocery store as before. This time, I'm in the express checkout line with my small basket. But ahead of me, making her purchases, is a woman in an electric wheelchair. The price of one of her items does not scan and the cashier calls for a price check. A line is building. It's supposed to be express after all. I can feel the tension rising. The lady making the purchase is able to get out of her chair and moves very slowly to pay and to pack her bags. She has some special form of payment to make too which takes extra time. Then, when she gets her receipt, she looks it over carefully and wants to ask a question about why there was tax on an item. The cashier is being very patient with her. Finally she's satisfied, gets back in her chair and heads out. People can rush through the line once again. All is not lost!
I think it is so interesting the way everyday life provides us with exactly the lessons we need to be learning. I was fascinated watching those ladies go about their business, seemingly not feeling any undue pressure to move along. I wonder if they used to be just as impatient as most other people, whether their disability has taught them the value of just taking your time without feeling distressed about it. I'd like to think I could learn that lesson without becoming disabled to do so. Maybe we could all practice a little more patience, both with ourselves and with others.
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