As I raised my smoked turkey sandwich dangerously close to my mouth trap,  I caught sight of one of my co-workers running into the break room and she said,  in a rather exasperated tone, “I need a second before I go back out there!”  I would compare her demeanor to that of a person that had just been chased  by a ferocious dog.  She explained that she had just helped several customers that were destined to drive her completely crazy and that a little break from the action would give her attitude adjuster time to kick in.  I told her I completely understood what she was saying and then I told her about one of the people I had helped earlier.  I said, “Something happened today that I had never had happen here before.  My customer almost made me cry.”   Immediately she displayed a shocked expression and said, “None of mine were that mean.” and then I said, “No, that wasn’t it, let me explain.”

A very pleasant woman approached the counter with one bolt of baby blue flannel that had little white clouds and little yellow moons on it.  I asked her how much she was going to need and she said, “Two yards.”  I asked what she was going to be making with this adorable flannel and nothing could have prepared me for what she was about to say.  She took a breath and this is what followed:

“My daughter is pregnant with twins and only one of them is going to live.  This fabric is going to be a blanket for the one that isn’t going to survive.  His brain didn’t develop so his head is filled with cysts.  In order to save his twin, my daughter has to carry him until his twin is ready to be born so in the meantime she is planning his funeral and asked if I could make a blue blanket for him that has clouds on it.  I think this fabric will work out very well, don’t you?” After swallowing the rather large lump that had formed in my throat I agreed and then said how sorry I was that her daughter had to be going through such a painful and life changing experience.  We visited a bit longer and shared similar experiences of the miscarriages we went through in our younger days.  We also both agreed that God has a reason for everything that happens and that it sometimes takes years to completely understand just what that reason is.   Eventually she offered a pleasant smile, thanked me for helping her and walked away.   I, on the other hand,  slipped a bolt of baby blue flannel into the “items to be put away” cart knowing I would never look at those tiny little white clouds the same, ever again.

I might make it sound like working with people in a retail sense is one of the worst jobs a person can have but in reality I know the tough ones make me stronger, the funny ones make me laugh, the grouchy ones force me to brush up on my “kill ’em with kindness” techniques and the ones with heavy hearts give me a chance to deliver a bit of compassion where it’s needed most.