I just HATE IT that I regularly have to "exercise myself" to push back on BAD attitudes toward the customers who come through and-- without one thought to the havoc they are creating-- leave me with so much mess to clean up that I wonder, "How will I ever get it all done with everything else I have to do?"
I keep thinking there MUST BE a kernel of wisdom -- some thought-- that will enable me to take these messes all in stride and NOT BE AFFECTED by them. I often think, "This is like having a hundred small children to pick up after."
I know it's not going to change. What is going to have to change is the way I internalize the issue.
The times that it bothers me the most are those times when I have so much other stuff to get done and every time I turn around, there's another kid pushing back my stamps or the merchandise I JUST PULLED OUT to the end of the peg hook. (Our higher-ups have been making a SERIOUS issue of us keeping all merchandise pulled out TO THE END OF THE PEG HOOK and keeping anything shelved RIGHT TO THE EDGE of the shelf.) One child or careless adult can undo hours of "recovery" in seconds of time.
I can't tell you the number of times I've cringed when hearing a mother say to her child, "Put that back where you got it. I told you not to touch anything." I'd rather they just lay it down on the base. It's easier for me to see that it's out of place there than having some child stick it back on top of who knows what.
Remember, we're talking about scrapbooking here. Aisles of stickers and embellishment AND--yikes!--racks and racks of individual sheets of paper that they pull out and say, "I like this one, Mama." She doesn't look so, of course, they have to take it to where she is. But that's even better than the Mom who lets her kid pull one sheet out of every slot to entertain him/herself while she's looking and then they leave the whole pile for someone who's paid to do it to put back.
(However, I DO UNDERSTAND why they don't put the paper back. Even I, after years of doing it, have to search for the right place sometimes and that paper just has a mind of its own when it comes to trying to get it back in its proper place! But, still, it takes up a lot of time to keep it straight.)
It's hard for me to look at a cute little, adorable child walking on one of my bases --tottering between falling against the peg hooks or falling off completely -- who, as she goes, is pushing back all the products I just pulled out, and have warm fuzzy feelings that make me want to smile and say to her mother, "How may I help you?"
Anyway, it's an ongoing issue. And, AS A SAVED PERSON, I cannot give in to the feelings or the CONTINUAL griping and the complaining, and all the other junk that others just don't think twice about giving in to. I have to keep my heart. It's NOT optional. And it's a daily "exercise in godliness".
I never forget Sister Jones admonition from a message years and years ago. "Pack up for the devil." The thought was, when you know that there is something that is a temptation for you, get prepared for it ahead of time. I've used that method countless times down through my saved life and it has stood me in good.
Now I'm working to come up with something I can THINK ON-- instead of these messes shoppers make-- to keep my mind and heart. In other words, I don't want to be in the position that I'm desperately trying to find something else to think about instead of what is happening. I want to have in place in my mind what I will concentrate on INSTEAD OF THIS ISSUE that bothers me.
I'll find something. I'll keep working on it until I do. It's a method that has worked for me many, many times-- getting packed up I mean-- and it will for this as well.
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