I’m at my work running the check stand. Bagging groceries with my hands while my mind sits in another place. Safe, secure. I think about many things, it is when I do with my hands what I want to do least that my mind wanders the most. Forcing myself to do the boring has its rewards and I’m not talking about the 8 bucks a hour.

So along comes a woman with an amazing amount of groceries. So stupendously high is her stack once I put them in bags I need to grab a separate shopping cart just to hold it all. Momentarily taken from my world I come back to earth to focus on the task at hand, dealing with all these groceries was going to require some planning ahead and thought.

And so it is now that I listen to her speak with the cashier.  She has three boys in their twentys who have left the nest. None of them called her, let alone visit. She jokes that they are off to visit their girlfriends mothers instead.

When we finish I offer to walk her to her car to help her with her groceries. Grabbing the heavy shopping cart I make small talk, the opportunity to get a tip is always present whenever I do this,

I have a way to constantly get more tips than any other bagger, it involves building rapport and then leading the conversation to me explaining that I took up this job to save up money, which is true and to tell them my Nobel intentions for the money.

But I don’t use this anymore, repetition is the death of me, I would rather explore and engage with people verbally than massage money out of their hearts.

So I start to realize that this woman is genuinely lonely.She feels that her kids are mad at her and its heartbreaking, I build the rapport, I tell her how I won’t be seeing my mother either, I tried to call her this morning and she didn’t pick up the phone.  “its so hard to be close when you live far away” I say to her. Everything I say is the truth, I do not need to lie, I keep it vague and she fills in the blanks with her emotion.

“I-I can be your mother if you want” she says. her arms half open, shaking, nervous and afraid.

I can be this person, I can be who she wants me to be.  I think to myself in a blink of a eye, smoothly I say: “I would love that” as In a single step I bring myself in front of her and wrapped my arms around her in one of my fantastic full body criss-cross hugs.

And suddenly I’m done. I let go and walk away. 

“YOU JUST MADE MY DAY, THANK YOU SO MUCH” she calls out from behind me.

“And you made mine” I reply sincerely

I don’t dare turn back, I’m grinning like a Cheshire cat.

What a tip that was.