And the New Norm is?

Ah…….things are slowly settling into a new norm I suppose? I look around the store seeing husbands and wives shopping together and children too. There has been no relaxation in restrictions but I believe that people are thinking all is good. No major outbreaks. The government is lying. And they are relaxing their guard. I want to believe.  I want to think that this is going to be this easy and things will be……but that is not how my brain works. Not in the least.

Tomorrow is my last early Saturday night close. 12-8:30. Come Monday our closing hour is going to be 10 p.m. Kinda sad because I was liking the earlier time. Also got to spend more time with Tember when getting off at 8:30. However bonus is that I might be moving to all early morning cash shifts……..oh yeah!

I am going to miss this slower pace I will admit that. Having to make sure that I have everything I need or do without has made me more aware. Today my phone died on me. Am guessing I unplugged while charging last night so I had to come home first break to charge. My bank card is in my cell phone case. Cell phone at home. Could not pick anything up. But but but I need Pepsi. I ran next door. Second time I have been in Co-op when not needing gas since this whole thing started.

Really I am just blurting everything out. I want to write but the juices are not flowing so well.

Our New Reality…..when this is a compliment it puts the whole world into perspective:

I was speaking with a customer yesterday as she was bagging up her groceries. I am unable to bag the groceries if a customer is using their own bag so I stand there feeling absolutely useless. She is thanking me over and over for our being there. For coming to work. How we are just as important as doctors and nurses.

And than she made me cry. No word of a lie…..this following compliment made me tear up. And when I told my boss he said that it was the best compliment that we had  received thus far:

‘You are more important than toilet paper. We have water at home we can clean with. But if you did not come to work we would starve.’

Yes folks being compared to toilet paper made me tear up. And made me realize how much our ways are changing.

Today I had another customer tell me that there are so many valuable lessons to be learned from this all. And I agree.

Covid 19 is a horrible awful virus. It’s actual damage will not be realized for who knows how long. But what it has done is slowed us down…..made us more aware of family….of friends….of life.

I had another customer talk about how she was shopping for her parents and an aunt. How it was frustrating but on the other hand they (the seniors) were having to look things up (size/name brand/willing to accept substitutions/etc) and it was like a scavenger game for them. I said how many in situations like this are now seeing family/friends more often and that in and of itself is awesome. She looked at me funny and said she had never thought of it like that.

Too often we fill every minute of every hour with things/activities that are needless just to have every hour accounted for…..now…..I want to fill those extra minutes with memories made with my son. With my friends. With my family.

April 24/20

 

Virtueless

Patience is a virtue. It is one that I do not have.

I have no patience. Well no that is not true, I have patience for certain things but alas there are two things that can send me right around the bend. I will be cursing and tearing my hair out (mentally not aloud). People who do not do the speed limit and slow walkers.

Of late, I seem to get stuck behind the slow drivers. Tuesdays, around 9:20 a.m. I have learned to remain in the right hand lane until I have passed him. Yes him clutching his steering wheel, staring straight ahead, doing 40 km (24.86 miles for my states friends :)) in the 70 km (43.50 miles) portion of the highway. He is driving in the left hand lane, all the time, not to pass people, but holding them all up.

I forgot about him one Tuesday morning until I saw the lane of cars crawling along and I glanced at the dashboard clock. I whipped into the left lane and zipped around him. Worse is the man is a regular customer and I have to bite my tongue. I mean really it isn’t as though I can explain to him how what he is doing is not only dangerous but makes everyone else around angry, because he is in his 80’s and would not listen to reason. Least of all from a woman. (That is a total other story)

This morning, I am on the way to the city to pick up my contacts. There is this pale blue car in front of me doing 30 in a 50 zone. And than she/he decided that I was too close so they slowed to 20. Thankfully this one pulled off within a moment or so because I was gnashing my teeth and saying some rather unpleasant things.

Here’s karma for you, coming back home the same damn car pulled out in front of me in an 80 zone doing 60. And again felt I was too close so slowed to about 55. I could not pass because I was in the passing lane and the right hand side had a steady stream of cars passing me. Again thankfully, one of us turned off and it was me. This time I chuckled to myself and shook my head.

When I got to the city I did a mad dash to the bathroom, cursing the fact I had had those few extra sips of coffee before leaving the house. I was actually afraid to get out of the car because I thought if I stood up I would have an accident right there. Thankfully there was nothing and no one to impede my gallop through the hallways.

Now the stores at St. Vital mall do not open until 10 which saved me some extra money because I was going to busy some candles. (Damn Bath & Body, sending me email flyer 3-wick candles $12.99 plus a 25% off coupon.) I was texting and walking which I am rather accomplished at (use to always walk home from library reading and walking so I have the quick head bob to check surroundings down pat) when suddenly there they were.

Three across, two deep, strolling along, the dreaded mall walkers. They are the folks who walk around the malls before the stores open to get their exercise. Me? I am the opposite of a slow walker. So there I am, walking behind them unable to find an opening to pass. The middle is filled with kiosks and the other side goes in the opposite direction. I was giggling as I walked behind them. Finally a break appeared and I dashed passed.

The other area where I have problems are shoppers. Saturday. In the store I work at. Our aisles are narrow. You can barely fit one person going west and one person going east (to give you and idea) and I am a flier. When I am getting or looking for something for a customer. On occasion I can slip through sideways but majority of the time I get frustrated and either dart up to pharmacy and get around that way or down the cleaning aisle.

Which leads me to the whole point of the blog. Patience. Something out there is trying to teach it to me. The slow drivers are a more recent occurrence but the slow walkers are not new.

The lesson I need to learn: Slow it down. Stop barreling ahead. Blinders on, my view narrow and focused. Slowing down allows me to finally see what I have been missing. Joy. Wonder. Beauty. It may take me a bit but now that I realize what lesson I am being taught I can actively work on it. (Except for slow drivers those I can always pass except when I can’t.)