The Kindness of Strangers

I'm finally getting some days off, and boy are they needed. My whole body is achy, I'm exhausted, and some fun shit went down this week! Today was definitely the most interesting. There was a bit of push and pull going on between 2 managers, and I happened to be in charge of the area where that was happening the past two days. That was stressing me out seeing as when I'm exhausted, I also tend to be a teeny bit more sensitive. Secondly, we were very busy and some of our equipment that we use daily broke down, making it necessary for us to use another area's machine located much farther away.

Thirdly, my company offers flu shots for its employees, and has always done pregnant women before. Today I went with complete confidence that I could get mine for free. Hurray! I waited in line for about an hour with some coworkers. This was an hour I could have sorely used to catch up to the busy-ness in my area. While we waited, one of the health workers walked up and down the line repeatedly offering printed flu shot information individually and other help to make the wait shorter. I dutifully read the whole sheet. There was no mention of pregnant women. All I knew was that my doctor really wanted me to get the shot.

I finally reached the end of the line and entered the mysterious room of needles. When I walked in, the very same man who had just spoken to me... oh... 5 times? said, "Um - I don't think they're going to let you get one." I just stared blankly at him. He went on to explain that they weren't allowing pregnant women to get the shot through them this year. Um. OK. This was confirmed by the nurse a short time later. Do you think they could have possibly MENTIONED this beforehand? They told me that they had already turned away a bunch of other women on the other day it was offered. Perhaps you should have warned us since it was always given BEFORE? And believe me - he knew I was pregnant before I entered that room. One can tell where I work.

So off I ran to a duty for which I was almost late due to waiting in line so long for the shot I didn't get. Everything was going well at first. Then, I noticed a customer in the area breaking one of our rules. I explained to her what she had to change and why - all in a nice, "the customer is always right" manner. As I spoke to her, a man next to her tried to drag her away quickly. She did not go with him, so he rushed off. She didn't speak for a minute. I began to realize something was very wrong. I tried to engage her once more. She stared at me with tears welling in her eyes and proceeded to tell me how I must have thought she was a moron but she wasn't and how she knows all kinds of things (and listed them). She ranted about how I must hate my job and hate people. I realized then that she must have a severe emotional disorder and just became as compliant and soothing as possible and told her that I loved my job and that the rules were not personal. It did very little. She had already decided that I ruined her life. Other customers were staring in disbelief. She worked herself up into a hysterical fit, exclaiming that her whole day was horrible and that I had ruined it for good for her. Then she threw in the icing on the cake. "Do you know..." she said, her voice trembling, "...that you are a a REAL BITCH." Her voice was dripping with venom. At this point, I had no idea what to expect from her. She mentioned something about seeing a manager. I agreed, called my manager and she came immediately to save me. The man who had rushed off earlier only came back when the manager appeared and explained that this woman, while intelligent, had the emotional capabilities of a 3 or 4 year old and that it wasn't our fault. Thanks Dude. You left me with her for about 10 minutes. Don't you think you should have been there for both of us?

It was very nerve rattling. I did not become angry with her at any point in time, because it was very clear that she couldn't help herself in any way. But my hands were shaking a little. The great part in this is that several customers came up to me afterward. They patted my shoulder. They rubbed my arm. They exclaimed how patient and kind I had been and expressed how sorry they were about what had happened. They were so awesome. One man said, "I'm so sorry! I was going to try to save you by coming up and asking lots of questions, but I just didn't get there!" It was so sweet of him, but it wouldn't have swayed her in her overstimulated state I'm sure. Another pregnant woman came up to me, put her hand on my hand and said, "I saw that. I'm sorry. You are really not a bitch."

The whole experience was very stressful, but at the same time I really got a lot out of it. I was proud that I could handle that sort of situation and not take it out on someone who couldn't help themselves. I never knew that I could do it for sure. The woman who told me I screamed* at her, and that I was stupid? I had difficulty holding my temper with that one. She most definitely knew better. Maybe I'll be an ok Mom. It was also so so wonderful to see so much good come out in people! How incredible to be able to witness that. THANK YOU KIND STRANGERS!

On top of that, my coworkers were all ready to kick some ass for me. And one bought me one of my favorite things - a can of Cherry Coke. And I drank that Coke down to the very last drop. It was exceedingly delicious.

So that was my day. How was yours?

*If you know me well, you know that I definitely do not scream AT people unless under the most extreme duress.

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