Little Old Ladies

I've had a very busy last couple of weeks, but now that things have finally slowed down, I thought I'd take a minute to share a story from about a week ago. 

I was at the post office and waiting my turn when I noticed a little old lady at the front of the line with a box on the floor at her feet.  When the postal employee called for the next person, the gentleman behind her offered to carry her box to the counter, and she graciously accepted his offer.  He was a rather young man, probably in his early twenties.  I couldn't help but think that his mom would be proud, and wonder if the lady had been concerned about how to get the box on the counter.

The lady was mailing a Christmas gift, but because it was wrapped, it needed to be placed in a box for shipping.  I watched as the postal employee put three different boxes together, each time carefully placing the lady's gift inside to see which one would be the best fit.  When she found the correct size, she taped the box together, packed the gift inside, and sealed it shut for the lady.  Then she was nice enough to address the package for her.  This might not seem like much, but at least at this post office, the postal employees never do this kind of thing, especially when they have a line of people waiting and they're the only one working at the counter.  They usually just point you towards the rack with all the flattened boxes and leave it up to you to figure out. 

But from the gentleman who carried her box, to the postal worker who helped her pack and address her shipment, to the customers who patiently waited in line, it was as if the holiday spirit hit everyone.  Instead of forcing a lady to either struggle with a box or ask for help, a young man decided to be a gentleman.  Instead of embarrassing a lady who didn't know how to put together a box and couldn't see well enough to address the small shipping label, the postal worker gracious did both for her.  Instead of impatiently tapping their feet and give the lady dirty looks, the other customers waited patiently while talking about all the Christmas decorations in the post office. 

It was nice to see everyone acting so compassionate.  I don't know if it was because everyone caught a bit of that holiday spirit, or because we all realized one day we would be that little old lady, but it was nice.  I hope it continues through the rest of the year.