Choice, Attitude and a Free Calendar

Over the recent past, I have been involved in several discussions about "choice", and have had ongoing internal battles with myself about this subject. The argument can go on and on. When do we have a choice? When do we not have a choice? From little things (do I want to supersize that?, well, maybe not little) to big things (is it nature or nuture?).

This morning at work, we were super busy. Because there were only two of us on the teller line, and being that it is the beginning of the month (think: Social Security checks), we had a long line for almost the entire four hours that we were open. At the chiming of the clock signaling closing, we still had 4 or 5 members in line. And one of them was probably one of the most annoying persons that we never want to wait on. I quickly sized up the odds....I had a 50-50 chance that I would be the one to have to deal with her. (To preserve the person's anonymity, I will refer to him/her as a female and for discussion purposes, call her Mariah, kinda like the wind.)

Now Mariah has a habit of coming to the credit union about five minutes before closing. Many times she can be found hanging in the lobby, conversing with her many acquaintances and may not even approach the waiting queue until the clock chimes. Oh, and did I mention that her car is parked at the curb (Fire Lane), directly in front of the entrance? [Note: there are always tons of parking spaces within a 10 second saunter to the door.]

Just my luck, Mariah was the last in line. And, it was my pleasure to wait on her. She is most kind: "Oh, I was hoping I would get you! I have a lot of things to take care of." And she proceeded to endorse the backs of the checks that she had. I guess that she didn't have time to do that before approaching the window. And she proceeded to organize and count the wad of bills that she had for deposit. After inquiring about her balances in all of her sub-accounts within her two member accounts, she then wanted me to check the two debit cards so that she knew which one went with which account.

OK. Here is where CHOICE comes in. It was a long and busy shift, but the time sped by. Now it was just about over. Do I choose to let myself get angry and upset because I have to wait on Mariah and she is just soooooo annoying!? Or do I make a choice to be kind and patient? I could be happy that at least she was the last person I would be waiting on today. Never mind that I had tons to do to organize, count and reconcile my drawer, still to be done after closing (now maybe 10 minutes past that.) I smiled and was very courteous and did everything that she asked for. I guess the downside is that she would be so pleased that she would want me to wait on her all the time!

But, life can be hell or it can be sweet. Is it always a choice? Maybe not. But I believe that we do have a choice in how we deal with it. As Norm Burnstein said, "You just do your best with what you've been given."

Now, you're probably asking yourself, "OK, where does the free calendar come in?" On her way out, Mariah scooped up all of the remaining free calendars that I had sitting up on the counter.

Seasons Greetings! Ho! Ho! Ho!