The Grocery Store

     There are moments in life that stick with you, that make an impression, moments that come back to your mind years later with a strong sense of emotion and nostalgia. Moments that come back and say hey this is important. Sometimes they feel like happened yesterday and the memory is real. Sometimes they're reminders of where we were and where we plan on never going again. And, sometimes, as in this case, they're something that someone had once said to you that you had completely forgotten about. Only to remember over a year later and realize how important those words were to you.
     I worked a grocery store for 8 months before I started my undergrad year (I'm a second year now) at Honor Academy of The Ozarks. I worked to save up money for HAO (because we can't have jobs during our first year, as second years we can have jobs if we could find anyone that would hire us) and we have to pay tuition and buy our own food. So, I was being smart and saving up. Good job Kaitlin! Anyway, so I got this job at the store as a cashier. For the most part I liked it. I got along with the people I worked with, it was pretty easy, but I mean I was a cashier so it's not like I was super in love with it. It was a great first job to have. Plus, I had to work with the general public. For the most part I liked it. You have your super happy people, the polite people, the people that just want to get through the line, people that don't speak English, people with WIC checks that pretend like they don't speak English, stoners, guys that hit on you, complete jerks, and then the regulars. Let me tell you, employees love the regulars. There are people that come to the store a lot and then there are the regulars. The regulars are people that know your name and you know theirs, they come to the store everyday sometimes a few times a day, you know what they're buying before they even get through the doors. They aren't always nice, we had one regular that as soon as he walked in it was almost a race to see who could get to a bathroom break first. Yet, at the same time it was nice to see him come in because despite whatever it was he belonged there as much as we did. They all did.
     We had one guy, a regular, and he always came in looking upset. He never smiled, never said hi, nothing. Occasionally he would talk to one of the floor managers and that was it. For whatever reason I decided that I was going to make him smile and say hi to me. I was going to make this man be happy. So, every time he would come into the store I would wave and shout, no matter who was in my line, hey there favorite customer it's great to see you! For the first little while he always looked at me like I was crazy, but I didn't stop doing it. Then one day he came through my line. Didn't smile, didn't say anything, he just came through my line. After that he came through my line every single time he came to the store and I was working. Well I chatted him up every time. Always called him my favorite customer, asked him about his day, told him that I was having a great day, and always ended by telling him that seeing him is what made my day. One day it was like a flip switched. He came through my line smiling and he talked to me a little bit. I was so happy, then as he was walking off he turned around came back to my register and said, "Thank you." That was it. Just thank you.
     After that things changed. He would come through my line laughing and talking, we would joke around. One time I had a ridiculously long line and he went to stand at a different register and I remember jokingly calling, "Where do you think you are going? Get over here and stand in my line. He did, he stood in my line for twenty minutes. I was amazed at the change I had seen in one customer just because I decided I was going to make him smile. It was incredible. I was so humbled at the fact that God allowed me to be used to reach this man in even the tiniest way. Then to humble me even more God used this man to speak to me.
     About three weeks before I was supposed to move out and start HAO I become utterly terrified and decided I wasn't going. It was to far from home, it was too hard, I didn't know anyone, and I was not going to go. I had turned in my two weeks notice and all of the regulars and employees knew I was leaving. I made my favorite customer promise to come in on my last day and say goodbye to me. About ten minutes before I my shift was over he came in and didn't even buy anything just stood in my line.
     He looked at me and said, "I'm going to miss you but I'm proud of you. You're going to go on and get an education and do great things. Don't give up. It's a good thing what you're getting ready to go do. Don't be scared. Fear has no place where you're going. I'll miss you, but I know this is best. Go on and make us all proud. I know you're going to make me proud."
     After he left our floor manager looked and me and said, "wow, he's never talked to anyone before. We're going to miss you around here."
     Since leaving I still think about him and all the other regulars and employees and I miss them. I miss all of them. Most of all I miss the quiet old man that never spoke. The customer that I worked on and worked on just to get him to smile. I miss him because in the end it wasn't me helping him, it was him telling me exactly what I needed to hear. Giving me the courage to move on and go where God called me to go. So, the moral of this story is smile at someone, it might change your life.

~Carrots