I was in Trader Joe's the other day picking out a few things with my four kids in tow. The store was kind of busy, and we were running a little late to dance class. I found what I thought was the most efficient checkout line and moved to end of it. From behind me I head a voice. "Wait, wait, you didn't see me. You didn't see me, did you?" I turned and watched as a middle-aged woman sidled (slinked? slid?) right in front of me in line and put her groceries down. She turned to me again (me, with my 4 kids and less than 15 items) and smiled "You didn't see me, did you? You see, I was in this line, but then I left to go talk to someone." And then she turned to get her groceries rung up. I was baffled, and at a loss for nice words to say. Last time I checked, if you leave a line without asking permission from those behind you to return to your place (or without leaving someone in your place) you have lost your place in line. She must have been gone quite a while, because I did not see her as I scanned all of the lines and then moved to the one I chose. But I just put a polite smile on my face and waited my turn. The cashier gave me a funny look -- one that said "Sorry, not sure what to do about this nut job" and then rang his bell to summon another cashier to ring me up "immediately."
Later that day I was at the library returning some books. Our library is especially lame because there is a very small slot to return the books in. You can only do about 2 at a time. I had several books to return, and was getting them out of my bag and placing them in the slot two at a time, clearly taking my turn, when a middle-aged woman slid right by me and started putting her books in the slot. But she didn't have just one. She had at least three sets. So then I had to wait for her to finish. Really? What makes people think whatever they are doing is more important than whatever I am doing? I didn't say anything to this woman either, but the next middle-aged person who cuts in front of me in line had better watch out! I'm not as nice as I look.
PS -- But of course I feel bad for even typing this up! Maybe I am nice. Too nice.
7 comments:
You are nice. Definitely not cool. Sometimes the ol' blog is a nice way to vent. You may see me venting pretty soon. :)
Get pushier.
So frustrating. I never know what to do when that happens.
I think you erred on the good side. Pres. Monson would be proud of you, as am I. :)
Good for you that you are this nice. I probably wouldn't be and ask why they think they better than me, so they can at least think about it.
Not cool at all! Way to be a peacemaker, though.
Brian always gives me this advice (and it is not always well-received): Let people cut you off. He is referring to driving, mean and rude people, etc. He tries to convince me that maybe that delay I experienced was actually a hidden blessing later in the day. Or he suggests that I need to be forgiving. I agree with you that those middle-aged women need to be a little less selfish!
Post a Comment