I, like most college students, have a little part time job working in retail. I come into contact with countless people while I am at work. Tonight was exceptionally full of new faces. Each new face taught me a little lesson about myself but here are just a few that affected me the most.
There is this little boy that comes in with his mother. They are frequent shoppers. I love this little boy. The first time I saw him he had a mohawk of little blond hairs, converses on his tiny feet and the cutest face I have seen in a very long time. Being my father's daughter, I immediately began interacting with him. So his mother responded with saying, "Hey Jackson, Pound it!" He reached out with his little tiny toddler fist and I formed my gigantic adult fist and he gently tapped my fist with his. Oh I was smitten :) The next time I saw William I went on and on about this awesome kid I had met. When I have children I would love for my kid to be so very much like him.
Tonight his mother came into the store and I was so excited to see the toddler that had stolen my heart. But in the place of this precious toddler there was a rowdy (in a good way) boy with glasses that was easily 3 feet tall. It was him. My little customer, Jackson. He isn't so little any more. It was in this moment that I realized that kids really do grow like Dandelions.
Did I mention that tonight I worked POS? To those who have been lucky enough to avoid retail jobs, this means Point of Sale. It's basically who checks you out when you are finished with your shopping experience. To add to this pleasant experience it was also senior citizen discount night. This brings around many awkward moments where I have to either suppose that someone is old or wait for them to tell me they are old.
Getting to the point here... This sweet older lady came through my line and immediately said, "Senior citizen discount." Me, being the person that I am, Said I can't wait to be older and have white hair and grandchildren I can spoil mercilessly.I just love the idea of sitting on a porch with a glass of sweet tea, reading a book (with my magnifying glass in tow) and enjoying life. I want to be that crazy old lady that sits and talks about nothing at all. This seems like a wonderful stage in life. It's not that I want this to happen tomorrow... I want to enjoy every moment of my soon to be 21 year old life. It's not that I want to wake up tomorrow morning with a white hair on my pillow. I am just not dreading this time in my life. There are so many that dread being old, Not me.
Finally, the last lesson I learned: I love being able to tell someone that I was born and raised in the area that I still reside.
A woman and her daughter came through my line and as I was checking her out the conversation got around to how she had lived in many places and just ended up here. She asked me if I had always lived here. I said, "Yes Ma'am, born and bred. In fact my parents went to the same high school right down the road." I love living in a place where I have a heritage. Where I know the back roads. I have no desire to move away from here. I love living close to my family, my church, everything. Maybe I am too stagnant. It is entirely possible that I need to move away and gain some life experience. I am just not someone that thought I can't wait to get out of this town.
In conclusion:
I am not exactly the biggest fan of working in retail but I am a fan of learning life lessons. Especially in the most inconspicuous ways.
