A couple of weeks ago, Hope and I ran two errands.
The first errand was to the post office. I needed to mail some books. There was a long line so one of the postal workers was walking around, asking what we were mailing, how we were paying and sending people over to the automated machine.
When he got to me, he looked at the package and asked, “Priority?” I said, “No, media mail.” He asked, “Books?” I said, “Yes.” He then loudly barked, “Did you put a card in there? Or a note or anything?” I answered, “Yes, I put a card.” You would have thought I just kicked his dog. He snapped, “YOU CAN’T DO THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Media mail is ONLY for books!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” I was rather stunned by his way over-the-top reaction and honestly about one second from bursting into tears. I had no idea a small card couldn’t be included in media mail. I ended up shipping the package Priority and leaving in a hurry.
I then decided to go through the Starbucks drive-thru for an iced tea. I was still shaken up. As I looked at the menu board, I thought about getting one of those new Cake Pop things or a slice of lemon loaf. But, then, I noticed the 490 calorie note next to the lemon loaf and decided it was not worth it. I pulled up to the speaker and gave the Starbucks guy my tea order. He asked, “Anything else?” I said, “No, that’s all.” He perkily asked, “Are you sure you don’t want anything else?” The way he asked and the way I was feeling, well, I laughed out loud.
What a difference in those two errands. One left me almost in tears. The other made me laugh out loud.
Regardless, my take-away from all of this was that I need to double and triple check my own reactions to people. If I’m impatient or negative toward someone, I very well may “ruin” their day. On the other hand, if I am cheerful and witty (I’m not all that witty but every once in a while something clever comes out!) I can make someone smile.
P.S. Apparently it’s OK to include a packing slip or note regarding the item but nothing personal in media mail (or something like that…I googled media mail and found all sorts of vague answers as to what is acceptable and what is not).
