When the Shoe Doesn't Fit

I was standing in the line at the grocery store feeling loaded down by some emotional turmoil I'm in when I picked up Time magazine and saw people sitting by body bags in Japan where their home used to be.  My problems suddenly seemed so small.  Well, they didn't seem small, but I thought it could definately be worse by far.  And I felt an immediate gratitude that I had a house to go home to and nobody in my family was dead or missing and I my kids are not going hungry.  It was my turn at the register, so I put the magazine away and turned to the young woman ringing up my groceries.  She didn't hesitate for a second to start complaining about how tired she was and how she'd been there all day and it was 9 p.m!  I asked when she gets off and she said 9:30.  I tried to encourage her saying, "you're almost there!", to which she replied that no one had been willing to take the rest of her shift for her and her head and feet were killing her.  By now I was assuming she'd probably started work early this morning and that is quite a long day, even though I did it all the time at her age working 12 to 14 hour shifts on the weekends in the restaurant.  So, I asked sympathetically what time she had started work.  She replied she'd been there since 2:00!  I hesistated thinking I hadn't heard her right, then I wondered if she had been there since 2:00 a.m. because she can't mean p.m.  That wouldn't even be an 8 hour shift at that point.  My brother, who can't find a job, would love to have an 8 hour shift.  I knew asking more questions was only going to get me into trouble, so I kept my mouth shut, but no longer felt sorry for her. 

As I began to think about what a wimp she was I thought of the Time magazine and how my problems stacked up next to all the homeless people who might have radiation poisoning and had probably lost some people they knew and loved.  My problems still felt heavy and I realized my cashier's problems probably felt heavy to her too.  So, I tried to take back my bad feelings toward her and started thinking that maybe there is more going on in her life than I know.  I had just heard someone say earlier that you can't understand someone until you put on their shoes.  I've heard that a hundred times, but it was a good reminder.  Everyone's shoes get uncomfortable sometimes.  And since there are plenty of people with bigger problems than mine, I decided to be extra kind to the cashier who'd worked seven long hours, because I'm hoping, in return, people with bigger problems than mine will be kind to me.