I had a unique opportunity to make a number of visits to a hardware store over two days. In that time I was helped by a number of people working at the store and checked out by at least as many before my buying spree was complete. I was humbled by one of those workers in particular. I thought they reflected you and I and those around us.

Watching how the people working acted or reacted as they were helping me with the nuances and intricacies of items I knew little about is worth writing about. My first trip was for a vanity and sink top for a bathroom upgrade.

The first clerk I asked for help pointed me in the general direction of vanities and sink tops before disappearing. I would say helping another customer, but seeing there were only about five of us in the store I believe he went to a new hiding place.

I decided on what pieces I wanted and went to find a cart. A worker in the lighting section pointed me to a corner and told me carts were usually pulled in to that corner (pointing) from the parking lot. Arriving at the appointed corner, there were no carts, but someone was guarding the exit area cum cash register. They told me all the carts were out in the parking lot somewhere.

When I found a cart, loaded it, and went to an open register to check out, the woman who helped me asked the normal questions and seemed to care about my answers. When the transaction was complete she asked if I needed help loading my purchase. I said yes I would like some help getting them into my truck. She paged out an appropriate code and said if no one shows up, she will help me load up.

I made a joke to the woman about hearing the stampede of feet coming towards the exit to help when a man showed up and said he would be more than happy to help me load up. He pulled my cart out to my truck, helped me load up, and asked if I could manage unloading by myself. I told him thank you for the help, and yes, I could manage the unloading myself.

The next day there were a number of trips back and forth buying, exchanging, and returning. One clerk, on the second trip, looked as if her best friend had recently died while complaining about how long the day was. It was nine am and she had been working two hours. I saw her later in the day at a different register, with the same bored, forlorn look. I chose a different register to check out at.

On one return for correct size trip, the returns clerk told me that doors were the number one exchanged item, and the reasons why. She was upbeat and took me at my word when I told her nothing was used or damaged even though one box looked nothing like it did when it left the store.

I exited the returns section, went back in the store and picked up some more large items. The cashier was friendly as asked if I needed this or that that she knew would be needed for what I bought. She also asked if I needed help, and told me a coworker who was one of the best employees would probably show up to help me. I recognized the name from the night before, the same person who helped load up my truck last night. I agreed and mentioned how he helped me the previous evening. The clerk said yes, that would be him, the others usually hide when paged to help.

One person who really stood out was the first register clerk of the second morning. She was the only register clerk when I got in the line of five at her register. She was a young woman with a large flower in her hair above her right ear, her mouth in a smile, and pleasant manners when checking out the previous customers.

I mentioned how polite and awake she was when the most of the customers and workers alike looked to be half asleep. The young woman told me, “I work somewhere else too, and I worked hard and late last night. I didn’t get much sleep and I am very tired. When I woke up and started getting ready to come here, I had a choice of how I wanted to be today, and I chose to be happy.” I stood looking at her in awe as she checked me out with a smile. The amazing places we learn about life and how to live it!