Thursday, May 13, 2010

U-Scan...U-Make-Me-Insane

Today I went to the local Super Market for coffee creamer, cheese, 100 calorie cupcakes (thank you, Hostess), pop and diapers. It took me a total of 7.5 minutes to collect those few items in my mini cart (Oh...let me tell you how much I adore the mini carts).



I had one too many items for the express U-scan.



I made a fatal error (no, that is not hyperbole). I went to the No Limit U-scan.



The lady in front of me in line appeared to be nearly done self-scanning. Boy, oh boy, was I ever wrong.



She had 4 cups of yogurt, all with a clearance tag, none of which would scan properly. She had bananas and couldn't find the code to punch into the screen. She had a t-shirt without a tag. She read each of her bazillion coupons before redeeming them. Her items were overflowing the bagging area. She bagged some items individually. Her order totalled over $340. And she paid in cash. Small bills.



And I was stuck with Heidi Montag's plastic surgery obsession on one side and the best and worst beach bodies on the other.



I tired not to be obvious, but I was grinding my teeth, near panic attack, white knuckling my beloved mini cart. The cheese turned green and fuzzy, the creamer soured, my babies became potty trained.



This was truly a test of my patience. And I lost.



I wish I could say that I transcended my human nature and offered assistance. I did not. If only I had smiled and thought "Oh, I have no where to be. She can take her time."



But I didn't.



I thought about how much of my precious free time she was burning away. I considered bumping her out of the way with my mini cart. I considered eating all the candy bars in the aisle and throwing the wrappers at her. I wished early over riping on her bananas, that the t-shirt would shrink in the wash and that all the clearance yogurt curdled.



Alas. I am not the nice person I wish I could be. But what could have been done?

Just when I get to a point where I think that I've arrived to an understanding of living righteously in this life I get pulled down by getting frustrated about trivial things.

So, what do you do? And what would be the right thing to do?

2 comments:

  1. Yeah, I almost got snippy at a mom in the school parking lot tonight (at a moral focus school, niiiiice) for taking up 2 slots (at an angle--clearly deliberate). Instead, I looked at her disparagingly. Then I realized I didn't want her to know I am friends with Jesus. FAIL.

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  2. Wow. I must have been behind her twin sister the other day. A moment for the begrudging realization that God has something in mind. What is God protecting me from while I stand here grinding my teeth? What person am I to meet with that needs encouragement while I try not to glance at the gossip rags? Sometimes it might even be that answer to praying for patience.

    I stopped by Kcdc for my scrip order and talked to Teresa for a long time (probably too long). Then I ran over to Kohl's. I saw Ruth J. and she was kind enough to share her 30%-off coupon with me. We were both blessed; perhaps not the guy in front of me that I cut in front of to get to Ruth.

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