Frustration!

I had an experience this morning that almost (remember I said "almost"!) turned me off from shopping at a certain store in my town. We really don't have that many stores here to start with, so this really got my goat.

I had a list (huge list maker am I) and I selected my items department my department. My husband needed calcium supplements; I needed cranberry ones. I needed a couple of birthday cards and the dogs needed food. I picked up some toothpaste and some eyebrow wax strips (I cringe every time I have to pluck) that I hoped wouldn't cause a lot of pain and watery eyes. I picked up a book and got some juices and then I thought I would browse through the women's clothing department in search of a pair of black shorts and a couple of T-shirts. All of a sudden, an employee of the store ran up to me and said I had to leave.

I looked at this woman, thinking that she had totally lost her mind. Why do I have to leave? I am not finished shopping and what do I do with the stuff that is already in my cart? Well, I was told I had to leave it at the front of the store because their tills were down - they were experiencing some kind of internal power failure. All the customers had been rounded up like so many cattle in a herd and were parking their carts at the front of the store and everyone was leaving and shaking their collective heads. An older gentleman was mumbling that he was never coming back, to which his wife replied they had to: They needed the items that were stacked in their cart or they wouldn't be eating for the next week. Kids were bawling because they couldn't take the toys they had picked out. One efficient soul was actually going around and putting her frozen items back in the freezer case!

I left my cart right where it was and I hoped someone would trip over it. That was nasty, I know, and I do realize that a power outage is beyond anyone's control. The employees were telling us that they hoped to rectify the situation soon and we were welcome to come back. I had a couple of other errands to do anyway, so I went and got them done. And I did return to the store a half an hour later, but employees were now in the parking lot and waving people away. No one was being let into the store.

And so it goes: There are some things in life you can control, like your own reaction to circumstances such as these, and there are some things you can't control. I really had to "go with the flow" today. My dogs won't starve and we have enough vitamins for a couple of days. I really didn't need another book and as for the eyebrows, I wear glasses and the eyebrows really aren't that visible.