Empathy vs. Elevator Rage
This morning I had the rare opportunity to get out of the house by myself. Joe's parents came over and watched the girls while I went and got my teeth cleaned downtown. I used to work downtown, so it made sense to go to the dentist near my work. Now, I keep going down there because it is a good excuse to go walk among the big tall buildings a couple times a year. Today, I got there early and had plenty of time to stroll through a book store before I headed up to the office. I was in no rush as I got on the elevator up to the fourteenth floor.
The elevator was busy as usual for this building and on the second or third floor, there was a UPS guy waiting to get on with his cart. Even though the compartment was pretty full, he pushed his way in. I stood there feeling angry at him and frustrated as the rest of us all squeezed together trying to make room, and I cringed as the guy at the back facing the door almost got banged in the privates by the hand cart. The guy scrambled to pick up and balance his packages on the cart as we climbed a couple of floors and I thought about making a snide comment to him about how he could have waited for the next car. A couple of us had to get off to let the lady in the corner off at her stop. I started to feel badly about my initial mean thoughts, so I blurted out something like "Sure is busy today" - sort of neutral.
That opened up the conversation for the UPS guy to mention that it was almost 10:30 (the cut-off for the express deliveries to be made) and he still had six packages to get signed in. He said only two of the elevators were working (in a bank of about 6 or 8), and as he said this he looked really frazzled. I felt awful - I almost slammed him for just trying to do his job, just trying to meet the deadline imposed on him by his company. I was so glad I had kept my mouth shut those few extra moments. I got off on the fourteenth floor feeling relieved.
Oh, and I've still never had a cavity in my whole life. I hope I can continue to keep it that way.
There were no packages in the mail today, just a Netflix movie and some bills.
Tonight we took Julie to our friend Max's third birthday party at Choo-Choo Bob's Train Store. She had a good time playing with the train tables they have set up there, and was thrilled to wear a party hat and take home a balloon. She didn't even notice when the birthday cake was served because she was busy playing in the main room. This was a good thing, since all I had for her as a substitute were some allergen-free cookies that had been riding around in the diaper bag for at least a week, and were a little smooshed. I had brought some Oatscreme in a little cooler too, but sincet they weren't serving ice cream for the other kids, I don't think I would have offered it to Julie and risked making them feel bad.
The elevator was busy as usual for this building and on the second or third floor, there was a UPS guy waiting to get on with his cart. Even though the compartment was pretty full, he pushed his way in. I stood there feeling angry at him and frustrated as the rest of us all squeezed together trying to make room, and I cringed as the guy at the back facing the door almost got banged in the privates by the hand cart. The guy scrambled to pick up and balance his packages on the cart as we climbed a couple of floors and I thought about making a snide comment to him about how he could have waited for the next car. A couple of us had to get off to let the lady in the corner off at her stop. I started to feel badly about my initial mean thoughts, so I blurted out something like "Sure is busy today" - sort of neutral.
That opened up the conversation for the UPS guy to mention that it was almost 10:30 (the cut-off for the express deliveries to be made) and he still had six packages to get signed in. He said only two of the elevators were working (in a bank of about 6 or 8), and as he said this he looked really frazzled. I felt awful - I almost slammed him for just trying to do his job, just trying to meet the deadline imposed on him by his company. I was so glad I had kept my mouth shut those few extra moments. I got off on the fourteenth floor feeling relieved.
Oh, and I've still never had a cavity in my whole life. I hope I can continue to keep it that way.
There were no packages in the mail today, just a Netflix movie and some bills.
Tonight we took Julie to our friend Max's third birthday party at Choo-Choo Bob's Train Store. She had a good time playing with the train tables they have set up there, and was thrilled to wear a party hat and take home a balloon. She didn't even notice when the birthday cake was served because she was busy playing in the main room. This was a good thing, since all I had for her as a substitute were some allergen-free cookies that had been riding around in the diaper bag for at least a week, and were a little smooshed. I had brought some Oatscreme in a little cooler too, but sincet they weren't serving ice cream for the other kids, I don't think I would have offered it to Julie and risked making them feel bad.
posted by Shelly Kang at 10:54 PM
3 Comments:
Isn't it amazing how easy it can be to forget that people are "just trying to do their jobs". I know I have a hard time with it, especially with all the roadwork they're doing on my street right now.
I'm glad that Julie had a great time at the party, she looks like she's having a blast
It can be hard to remember that other people are in a hurry when we are not. It can be even harder to remember that they may have an excellent reason for doing things that appear to be rude. You did good holding your comments in for a few minutes. Some people don't and that makes a frustrating job even more frustrating.
The store you were in looks like a great store. Love the train set.
Judy in SC has asked me to bring her scrap yarn, so I have a small bag for you. Are you going to be in town this weekend?
Kathy Owens
kathycpa@att.net
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