Holiday rush

I made the mistake of going to the post office during my lunch break on Monday. This was definitely not my intention, but I had been putting this off for long enough that I really needed to get a few things in the mail. Two of those packages were Mary Kay products people had ordered, and a third was for the Pet Swap I am in (I thought the recipient of that would like to receive it before Christmas!)

I accidentally got a little lost on my way to the post office before work that morning, which meant I was headed out during my lunch break. Lets just say I was less than pleased. I arrived in the parking lot which had cars lined up in the street trying to park. Once I got in and managed to get my recycled mailers taped and the correct addresses on the correct packages, I was finally ready to stand in line.
Though the line moved fast, it was still about 5 minutes before I got to the front, and about 25 minutes into my lunch break. My, usually 30 minute lunch break. So I admit, I was pretty grouchy.

Now, imagine the poor person behind the counter. I can only imagine how their day was going. Unfortunately for me, I did not think about them when I walked up to the counter. In my defense, I can at least attest that I was not rude...but I don't think I was very pleasant, either. The woman behind the counter was pleasant, however, and I can't help thinking how hard she was working that day. Certainly harder than I was anyway. And yet, she didn't snap at me, and her manager was cheerfully saying "Happy Holidays!" to everyone leaving. Everyone working in that post office was working hard to make it run smoothly, and even though I didn't appreciate or notice it until later, they actually had holiday cheer, rather than the holiday rush I was feeling.

I feel a little guilty for being so rushed, and not even noticing, or taking the time to stop and realize that I need to be exhibiting holiday cheer, instead of my usual holiday rush.