I called the doctor's office at 8am today, made an appointment for both Zoe, and Austin, who doesn't have Nasty Eye problems, and off we went. For a Monday, the doctor's office was surprisingly on time and efficient. We were out and on our way to the pharmacy in a little over a half an hour.
The pharmacy is where the wheels fell off the cart a little.
The pharmacy is where Unhappy Lady was working.
Unhappy Lady, who told me that the prescription for Zoe's eye drops was going to be $84 and some change. She looked me up and down, and in a VERY condescending tone, asked if I would like for them to call the doctor to see if they could substitute something cheaper. I, very politely, said, "That would be great, if you could." She came back with a humpf, and told me it would be about fifteen minutes. I am a reasonably intelligent, adult woman. I know when someone is being snotty to me. I know when I am being judged, and I know that when her eyes looked at my left hand, she wasn't admiring my wedding band set. She was checking to see if I had one. So, I'm standing there, feeling judged, with two of my kids, and I thanked her and walked away.
The kids and I went to pick up a few other items while we waited, returning in fifteen minutes, and I approached Unhappy Lady, once again, to ask if the prescription was ready. She was so short with me, and so incredibly rude about telling me that the eye drops, were not, in fact, ready, that I wanted to take her snark, add some sarcasm, (it's my second language, after all) and shove it all back down her throat.
Then I glanced down and saw the (slightly disgusting) eyes of my daughter, and I looked back up and said thanks and took a seat on the bench.
About five minutes later, another pharmacy employee called Zoe's name and we went to the counter, paid $4 for the eye drops, and walked out the door.
Later, on the way home, Zoe and I had the following conversation.
"Mommy?"
"Hmm?"
"Why was that lady so mean?"
"I have no idea."
"Why were you so nice to her, after she was mean?"
"I was trying to give her the benefit of the doubt."
"What does that mean?"
"It means.... maybe she was having a really bad day, and I didn't want to make it worse."
"But didn't she make your day worse by being mean?"
"I guess, but my mom always said, 'two wrongs don't make a right'. That means that even if she was nasty to me, it doesn't make it any better for anyone if I'm nasty back to her."
"Was she mad because you didn't want to pay $84 for the eye drops?"
"I don't know, maybe, I guess."
"Do you always be nice to people who act like that?"
"Not always."
"Why?"
"Because I'm human. Because I have bad days, too."
"Maybe it helped her day that you smiled at her."
"Maybe. But for sure, it didn't hurt anything, and it didn't cost me anything, either."
"I love you."
"I love you, too."
"I'm glad you're my mom."
"I'm super lucky to be your mom, and I'm glad you're my kid."
So, Unhappy Lady, thank you for giving me the opportunity to teach my kid something. Believe me, this story could have gone in a completely different direction. I'm glad you were on our path today, I'm happy to have had the chance to smile at you, and I'm really grateful that you helped my family save $80, because my children have been raised to enjoy the finer things in life, like....food and lights. I hope your day got better. Mine absolutely did. I dropped the boy off at school, brought my Icky-Eyed girl home, gave her the discounted eye drops and watched Frozen. (Again.) I don't know what prompted your judgement, and truthfully, I don't care that much. I just, truthfully, and from the very bottom of my heart, hope you have a nice day.
