To the People in Line at the Store Who Think the Bagger Is Working Too Slowly

I was just out buying groceries at Publix. As the cashier was checking out my items, the person bagging my groceries was chatting me up. I believe he had special needs — not physical like my daughter’s (she has cerebral palsy), but possibly social. I could see the looks on the faces of people waiting in line. They had that pained, oh God, we have to deal with this slowing us down look. One person even left our line and went to another one. Even the cashier looked annoyed and sighed as my groceries were backing up.

He was working slowly and definitely added some time to all of our grocery experiences, but let me tell you, what a way to brighten my day. He asked me a bunch of questions to make sure he was bagging to my specifications. He asked me what I was doing for Valentine’s Day and excitedly told me he was going to send his girlfriend flowers. He told me about his favorite new movies, and he complimented me on my nose ring. We talked about how cool it must be to fly planes (my husband is a pilot). All with a sunny smile and a lot of laughter.

To all the people who were waiting in line behind me: Yeah, you will lose five or 10 minutes of your day, but man, you will open your heart to the beauty of this world.

I pray that when people meet my daughter, they will take a few minutes to treat her like a person, and in return, I promise they will get a warm heart and beauty to add to their lives.

Lead photo source: Thinkstock Images