Mad Hatter

A lady - and I use that term loosely - we will call her Kim, was in the office last week... She was to pick up an envelope left by a lady who works across the hall for a separate company.  We have an office policy to ask for identification when someone is picking-up anything from us; the only exception being if the person is already known to us.  When the lady asked if I had an envelope for "Kim" I replied with a smile, "sure, I just need to see your ID."  By the time I uttered the second half of my sentence the woman (note I retired the use of the word "lady") already had her hand on the envelope... She shifted her body weight from one side to the other let out a loud sigh and said "GAWD!  It's in the caaar I'll have to go get it!" I smiled again, looked her in the eye, nodded and said "okay."  She turned on a dime walked out the door shutting it behind her (the window is open so I'll give her the benefit of a doubt and say that's why it slammed) rushed down the stairs, grabbed her drivers licence from her car and brought it back.  Slapped it down on the desk instead of passing it to me, turned her head and put her hand on her hip... I picked up her licence, looked at the picture and her quickly and said "thanks" again with a smile while she grabbed the envelope and her licence said "yeh, thanks," shut the door and left.

Unfortunately for her, I know her name and she is the owner of an appraisal business in town... I was initially left with a few thoughts I would like to say to her... Or anyone like her really:

• "What's it like to live life with that sort of personality/attitude?  Happy I would think."
• "You represent something other than yourself, think about that before you act a fool... How do you even get business?"
• "Next time you see your spouse will you apologize for me?  It must be great to live with someone with such a rotten attitude!" and I would smile, of course...

Now I know, I'm a Christian and I represent someone other than myself... Also, I was at work... Those are the two reasons I refrained from the above commentary.  But I really had to make a great effort to bite my tongue.  I know I could blog about representation... I have already and may again, just not now.

I could also blog about "life is what you make it" and people who make "mountains out of mole hills" or even seeing life through the filter of your own attitudes... Rose colored glasses or dark and gloomy, chip on your shoulder thoughts.  Again, a good point, but not that either.

Maybe about your attitude having an effect, positive or negative, on everyone around you and everything you touch... After all, if you're mending a butterfly wing but you're still smashing around because of that past offence you're not going to do very well being gentle with that butterfly and you'll likely kill the thing you are trying to repair.

What I would rather blog about is none of those, it's not what it must be like to be her but my own hasty judgement she is always that person. Although I most likely will not ever recommend her company or be happy to see her again. It could have been that she was just having a horrible day. I don't know her life, family or business for that matter... Maybe her business isn't doing well and she's going bankrupt, maybe that spouse left her for a newer version or one of her parents were transferred from their own home to a nursing home...

So Christian or not, I'm glad I kept my smile "Today, give a stranger one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine he sees all day." - Quoted in P.S. I Love You, compiled by H. Jackson Brown, Jr., I'm glad I was not rude back "Treat everyone with politeness, even those who are rude to you - not because they are nice, but because you are." - Author Unknown, I'm glad I didn't say the things on the tip of my tongue "By swallowing evil words unsaid, no one has ever harmed his stomach." - Winston Churchill and I'm glad I'm sensitive enough to recognize the possibility she's actually a nice person in a bitter place "Be pitiful, for every man is fighting a hard battle."  ~John Watson, 1897 (commonly attributed to Plato as "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.")  I've been there and so have you so give someone a break!

"If you haven't any charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble." - Bob Hope