Anyone who knows me will fall out of their chairs when they read what blessing I am thankful for today. Either that or they'll think I'm smoking something good and am therefore not in possession of my right mind. But I don't care. I have to be honest...Wal-mart is a blessing!
This store - that I have avoided like a cancerous plague - really got it right today. This store - that you can't drive five minutes without running into another one of them, anywhere in the U.S. - was exactly what I needed and I'll tell you why:
It is beside the point to say that I needed office supplies, Christmas wrapping paper, and groceries but didn't have time to go to three different stores. This often happens, and when it does, I grudgingly step across Wal-mart's automated threshold, and steel myself for thirty minutes of torture. Crying children, frazzled mothers, employees who speak any language but English; these are just a few of the charms Wal-mart possesses, and to say I dread going in would be a gross understatement.
Today was no different. While wandering around putting rubber bands and orange juice in my cart, I couldn't block out the entitled children whining about how they needed Cheetos right now. And I'll admit, I felt disgust. Loathing. Even anxiety cropped up; and I found I couldn't get out fast enough.
So I wheeled my over-full cart up to the check-out lines. And this always happens to me; I get in a line that moves great until I step into it, then price checks are called for, or credit cards have been misplaced, and the once free-moving line grinds to a sickening halt. It's either that or I pick the line that no one is in, thinking I've caught a break for once, only to find that the checker is new and has to look up codes for everything.
This is what happened to me today. My checker was new. It might have even been her first day working the register solo. She moved slowly and had to look up produce codes on everything from asparagus to sweet potatoes. She commented on the things I was buying, too, and this usually bugs me.
But something different happened today. Instead of huffing and secretly rolling my eyes (mature, I know), I started chatting with her. We struck up a great conversation about Swiffer Sweeper cloths and husbands who attempt housework. We laughed about movies and games we loved, and by the end of my order, I felt like I had made a friend!
As I was walking away, she said to me, "It was fun to talk to you."
My eyes misted over. In Wal-mart, of all places!
I replied, "It was fun to talk to you, too," and meant it.
Wal-mart, you really got it right today and I thank you for my new friend.
I love it when a lump of coal becomes a diamond. There's nothing better in the world than when a tulip sprouts up healthy and proud from a pile of manure. A perception shift is always a blessing!
Love to you, and to my new Wal-mart friend,
Sylva
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