So I got into the checkout line at the store today, only to quickly realize what I thought was going to be a “quick to the register” was instead going to be one of those lines. Don’t laugh. You know the kind I’m talking about. It was a family of 5 and nothing was on the conveyor belt. There were several things sacked up in their cart, but there were also several more things not sacked in their cart. The checkout girl was going through these items one at time, cross-referencing and checking something in her hand as she went.
I’ll be honest; my first feeling was irritation and impatience. But quick on the heels of that was curiosity. Then, as I realized it had something to do with governmental assistance and making sure they had items that were acceptable and not exceeding a set price, I felt a jumble of things all at once. Relief it wasn’t me. Deeper curiosity about what it felt like to have to live that way. A heavy embarrassment about all of the junk in my cart. A desire to give a candy bar to the little girls staring at the checkout goods and shooting me shy grins.
As their checkout continued, I tried to justify my own purchases, but cokes, chips and pre-packaged snacks were really hard to overlook as they got clearance on their apple juice, cereal and eight large bunches of bananas. (Eight bunches of bananas? Who in the world can eat that many bananas before they get black and mushy?)
And I decided I should stop judging. They weren’t judging my chips so I certainly shouldn’t judge their bananas. Maybe they really liked bananas. And maybe they didn’t, but that’s what they could afford to get. I wondered about how their two little girls would feel going home to eat their bananas if they knew my little girl was going to go home and eat powdered sugar donuts I had impulsively picked up for her.
And then, just like that, they were all done and headed off. Except the dad came back, flashed me a happy, genuine smile and apologized for taking so long. His girls called for him and they all left together. And I realized that none of the items in either of our carts mattered. They were a family out shopping together. He was happier after his long checkout ordeal than I was with a full pocketbook, shopping cart and pantry. There were important lessons to learn here.
And for that, I could honestly say that I didn’t mind the wait.
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