Or has someone done one for you?
Today I was at the DMV registering my camper so I can take it on vacation this weekend (hooray!). Our DMV is awful- you wait in one long line for the “information” desk, they give you your forms, you fill them out and get BACK in line, then they give you a number and you wait. It’s like the scene in Beetlejuice, I kid you not.
So I’m in there people watching- I’m number 71 and they’re on 66. A lady comes in and is PISSED at the clerk. Totally frustrated. She waited in line, they gave her the forms and told her to get back in line after, blah, blah, blah.
By the time she takes a seat, she’s red in the face and just looks pissed at the world. Twice she tries to engage the guy next to her in a conversation about how irritated she is, but he won’t bite.
Finally, I look over and say “Boy, it sure is hard to get in and out of here”. The dam breaks. She starts saying stuff about how she just needs to renew and she thought she would only be a few minutes and she’s going to be late going back to work (she was on her lunch hour). She looked genuinely worried underneath all of that irritation.
I agree that it’s a real pain and offer to change numbers with her. She’s number 80, and is absolutely stunned into silence. She asks if I’m sure, and I said yes- I was going into work for a half day and I was not in a hurry. I really didn’t mind waiting a few more minutes.
Well, I’ve never seen a person’s attitude change so fast. All of a sudden it’s all happy stuff and “Isn’t the weather nice? Do you garden? Oh, a camper? What fun!” and such. She thanked me when her number got called and told me I made her day. She was in and out in about 15 minutes total.
Frankly, it made my day that this trip to the DMV turned out to be a positive affirmation of the kindness of strangers for her instead of a mood ruining ordeal. I wonder if it will come up at the dinner table tonight at her house: “Something really nice happened today!” instead of “I hate those idiots at the DMV!”
What nice thing have you done lately or had done for you?
Zette