Standing in line at IKEA the other day (I chose poorly, the line that moved the s-l-o-w-e-s-t - and every register had long lines) I was behind a young woman. Her manner of dress was ok, fairly modest by young people's standards. She was covered in tattoos and had multiple piercings. Just something I noticed. Pretty soon, a guy came up to her. Don't know if it was husband, boyfriend or brother, just that you could tell he was more than a friend.
He also was covered in tattoos. And was a bit agitated. He'd apparently been in conversation with an employee, trying to get some help, and another customer interrupted and this young tattooed guy was immediately ignored. It bothered him. (And yes, I was bothered by it (for him) as well.) He tried to regain the employees attention but was treated as though he was invisible. He wasn't super loud, but it was obvious he was upset. In my mind, deservedly so.
I tried to not appear as though I was eavesdropping (in spite of the fact that I pretty much was) and just continued with my texting to The Husband. (What is it about the Asian culture (in general) that they refuse to wait their turn/stand in line/respect another's body space? Hard to ignore when they make it so obvious.) Though when our eyes connected I did offer up a small smile.
Finally, it was my turn to pay for the wedding gift, the young man and woman were wheeling out their cart full of purchases when he turned around, gave me a nice smile and said, "have a great day."
After puzzling this over in the back of my mind for a couple days, I finally decided that it was his effort at erasing his bad feelings. He wanted to turn his mind toward more positive things. (I read recently that constant complaining actually hard-wires your brain toward complaining.) I respect him for his desire to be pleasant in spite of how he was treated. And I really do hope his day ended up better than it was at IKEA. Outward appearance doesn't always truly reflect the soul.
Today I'm grateful it's Wednesday and The Husband comes home tonight. (YAY for us!!) I'm grateful for people who give others a pass on their (hopefully occurring only sometimes) inconsiderate/selfish/hateful behavior. (Though I'm still trying to figure out why that guy running past me on the trail this morning told me "good job!" That wasn't hateful or unkind or anything, just don't know why he felt I needed it. Was it because I sorta scuffed my shoe but didn't fall down? It was hardly a hiccup in my step. Strange, huh?) I'm grateful for dentists - hopefully he'll help my aching tooth next week. And I'm grateful for the opportunity to spend a couple hours at the temple this afternoon. I think I need some peaceful rejuvenation.
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