I was so tired after work yesterday, I could have honestly fallen asleep driving. I had no good reason for being so exhausted. I did not overextend myself during the day, I thought I had slept good the night before..... I just don't know. I met Joe and Gavin at Home Depot to look at paint colors for the basement and Gavin's bedroom. I was completely dragging my feet, having to concentrate to move each muscle. Pathetic.
We arrived in the paint section and looked at the overwhelming amount of choices (we've done this many a time before, but it seemed to be more tedious this go round). The lady behind the paint counter asked if we needed assistance. She was kind to offer. We told her we were trying to pick out a paint color. Doing her best to help us with such a broad task, she pointed out every paint kiosk on the wall. Immediately, I felt annoyed. You know that feeling of wanting to lash out or cut someone off mid-sentence because you cannot bear to hear another word? I felt like that - like, duh, we see all of the other millions of paint swatches surrounding us.... thanks for pointing them out. She continued to grate on my every nerve when she came up behind me and started passing what seemed like every paint "inspiration" pamphlet that Behr paint produced to me so that I knew all of my options. During this time, she was also helping Joe pick out the right kind of primer for the drywall and in between her going down the aisle to help him and back to the paint counter, she would throw in her ideas on this and that. Gavin was sitting in the cart "stocking up" on Gorilla tape - which just so happened to be displayed right next to him. I didn't care that he was filling the cart with Gorilla tape as I was growing more and more agitated with this paint lady. I had never been to Home Depot's paint department when there was actually someone there to provide assistance - they are usually swamped or missing in action.
What added to my crankiness was the feeling of a group of bang hairs sticking out away from the rest of the pack along with my underwear squeezing at my leg joints - completely uncomfortable.
I knew I was not interacting with the paint lady like I normally would, politely and in a friendly way. I was in an I don't care mood. Then I saw how well she was treating Gavin - she had won him over because she was so friendly and nice. She was making an effort to talk to him, ask him how old he is, etc. She mentioned that she has a grandson and then showed us pictures. She was a proud grandma.
We started to connect. She had been trying her hardest to provide excellent customer service, and it took her showing an interest in Gavin and relating to us for me to give her a chance? Gees. That is not like me. I can usually recognize good customer service from the get go. I think I saw Gavin enjoying the paint lady and realized I was missing out on something because I was feeling tired and crabby. It's very easy to do but totally not worth it.
Still dragging my feet a bit on the way to the cashier stand, my eyes met with another Home Depot employee. He was in a wheelchair and had no legs from the knees down. His whole face smiled. My gosh. Why must it take such a wake up call to look inward?
I am selfish. It's not right to be aggrevated with someone else just because of my own feelings. Who's to say what the paint lady had been through before we got there, yet she was extremely kind and helpful. The employee in the wheelchair is physically handicapped but seemed fully joyful.
I will definitely think about this and I hope to become a better person - I know I have a lot of room for growth.
Oh, and this is the paint color we chose, with thanks to the paint lady. :)
Love,
H
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