This is Peanut Butter Brickle. My Girl Person shops a lot. Because we eat. A lot. Especially Fruitycake.
She is always trying to find the best deals. And she says it is harder and harder to do that lately. She says everything costs more and you get less. And she said she definitely can’t count on us to eat less.
So she was a bit stressed when she went to a grocery store place yesterday. She tried to only get a few things. But when she looked at her cart, she felt like she just couldn’t win. There weren’t enough coupons. Definitely not enough sales.
And she was a bit down. Until someone stepped in line behind her and she was surprised when that someone started to unload her cart. Surprise has a way of making you forget worry.
This someone unloading the cart was elderly. Slow. And she didn’t have on a uniform at all for the grocery store.
Girl Person told her that it was ok. That she didn’t need to do that. But the lady person said, “Don’t worry. I used to work here.” And that surprised Girl Person even more. What was going on?
The lady person said her name was Ms.Jean. And that she used to work at the store for many years. She said she would still work there if she wasn’t 86. And Girl Person told her that she didn’t look a day over 20. To which Ms. Jean got a chuckle about.
Girl Person didn’t want Ms. Jean to work. And she felt bad. But then she decided that if this is what Ms. Jean wanted to do, and she had loved her job, maybe this gave her joy. Joy is different for everyone. And comes from many things. And that’s so nice. Just like Ms. Jean.
As Girl Person checked out, she couldn’t help but laugh and smile. Everyone was saying hi to Ms.Jean. Everyone knew her, and she knew everyone. We don’t know how long she worked there. But even though she wasn’t getting paid, she still wanted to help others. She still had pride in her job. And she loved people. What a good combination.
Ms. Jean was in no hurry. And no one else seemed to mind. Time seemed to go back to a less stressful, simpler era. Just from the simple action of unloading a cart.
How can you be like Ms.Jean today?
–Peanut Butter Brickle
