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?
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.
ReplyDeleteWow. 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.
ReplyDeleteI 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.