Reality check

I just returned from a shopping trip, and I hate shopping. I really hate shopping in crowds and since it is close to Christmas, there are crowds. However this was different…

My first stop was Wal-Mart, not a place I like a lot. However they have things I need that other stores in my area don’t have, so I went there. I first picked up, not on my list, two packages of wrapping paper, on sale half price already. Then I hit the grocery aisles and started to hear Christmas greetings loud and clear. I wasn’t sure where they were coming from, it wasn’t over the loud speakers, but it was certainly loud.

I soon found the source, a lone cashier at the back door. She called out loudly, pretty much to half the store, “MERRY CHRISTMAS” as each customer walked out the door. Then I heard a response come from somewhere else in the store… “Happy Hanukkah too” and somewhere else there was a “Feliz Navidad” and from another direction another greeting in a language I didn’t recognize, but I was pretty sure I knew what it was saying. And you know what, even the grumpiest of shopper walked out with a smile on his or her face.

What pleased me was that it was Merry Christmas, not Happy Holidays, and that alone really made me smile.

Next stop was the grocery store, which fortunately wasn’t too crowded. (I think everyone was at Wal-Mart) I got what I needed and checked myself out. The cashier on the self-checks was strangely quiet, not herself, and I said something to her about her solemn mood. She said she wasn’t in a festive mood this year, and I asked her why… She lost her daughter in a terrible accident on November 22nd and just wasn’t in the holiday spirit. I was speechless. I didn’t know what to say, so I continued checking out, almost in tears. As I left I walked up to her and asked her how she was doing. She said OK, but it was hard. I said I could not imagine. She said but I have my Granddaughter, and she keeps me going. I told her I had no idea how she was managing and wished her all the luck and peace in the world. She smiled at me and said thanks. I wanted to give her a hug…