Hospitality Head-On

I have shared before that one of my Lenten practices this year is hospitality. I'm really making an effort to talk to others. I've been doing well and making new friends in unusual places. Saturday I shared a laugh with a lady at Wal-Mart whose husband was yelling down the aisle at her, frustrated because he couldn't find the right kind of Coke and because he had children with him. Adam acted the same way when I made him come to Wal-Mart with me. So, I counted that as a victory, but then I realized I was running out of time and needed to get home. I still had Costco to get to. So when I was at Costco, I was weaving around people with my humongous basket and checking items off my list as quickly as possible. I had tunnel vision and was feeling important and accomplished. "Look at me! I just passed right by those samples! Oh yeah. I haven't bought any impulse items! I'm in a hurry and I can't be distracted! I'm important and focused!" That worked great, until I was in the produce room and literally ran right into a lady. (With my body, not my cart, thank God.) I was so embarrassed and apologized repeatedly, and then I realized it was Stella, a friend from church! I apologized again and then explained to her how busy and important I was before I fled the scene. Then I realized that had I taken one more minute out of my day, I wouldn't have run into her, and I could have actually had a conversation with her about how she was doing, and not about how busy and important I was feeling. I get the Grrrrrr.....

Hospitality at Wal-Mart

One of my Lenten practices this year is increasing my hospitality. I'm usually pretty good at this, but somedays I am tired and don't feel like extending anything beyond my nose. My particular focus is greeting others even when it makes me a little uncomfortable.

Yesterday the kids and I were anxious to get to the zoo to see the new dinosaur exhibit. However, we were also out of milk, butter, eggs, and sodas for Adam's office. We were rushing around so we could run to Wal-Mart, grab our groceries, and hit the zoo.

When we walked in, I noticed the greeter was a darling elderly Asian woman. It occured to me that I should greet her but I thought to myself, "I'm tired and I have to get in and get out because we're going to the zoo!" But no. When you feel the urge to extend something to another, you better do it, or you will do it anyway. At least that's how it goes in my life.

So I had decided I was going to ignore the cute greeter but just at that moment Claire decided it was time to start singing "Row, row your boat." She started belting it out loudly as I was arranging my shopping cart.

Then the little lady came over and said, "What you singing? I know that song!" And believe it or not, she started belting out "Row, row your boat," as loud as she could sing it with Claire. It was hilarious because she was a TERRIBLE singer, had a thick accent and was LOUD. We giggled and talked to her and then she kept on singing, even when we were halfway through the store we could still hear, "Row, Row, row YOUR BOAT!!!"

I said a silent prayer of thanks to God for overcoming my laziness so I could get a giggle and a blessing from the crazy Wal-Mart greeter.

Confession that I'm a Walmart shopper

When I was a school teacher and was part of a dual-income family, I enjoyed telling people how much I loved buying all my groceries at Tom Thumb. Sure it's more expensive, I'd say, but you get great customer service and I use coupons, which really drives the price down. They do have fabulous customer service. All the employees knew me and one lady even knew our dog! I was against shopping at Wal-Mart. In fact, I boycotted them for about 7 years. I was quite adamant in this. Adam and I disliked Wal-Mart for their huge building, huge carts, and incompetent staff. One day, however, I had to go to Wal-Mart to buy my blind friend Jo some special seat cushions. Of course that was the day that my coworker saw me in the parking lot. I still maintained that I was not a Wal-Mart shopper. When I quit work, I started grocery-hopping as my friend Mary Annelle calls it. I would read all the sales papers and then do most of my shopping at Tom Thumb but go to other stores for their sales items. Due to realities of life, I eventually had to drop Tom Thumb off my regular rotation. What happened next was a snowball effect. I would pop into Wal-mart for one thing, a non-food item and then I would remember I needed cereal. Cereal is a full dollar cheaper there. I felt good because I bought my one item and remembered cereal. But then on the next visit, I remembered more that I needed. Then I started bringing a list. Now I am an official Wal-Mart shopper. I am still frustrated by the huge carts and huge store, but I have found competent employees who are both intelligent and friendly. Some items are so much cheaper there that it doesn't make sense for me to buy it anywhere else. My name is Sarah, and I am a Wal-Mart shopper.