You see, Colin is a person with different abilities. But what he may lack in critical thinking or math skills, he more than makes up for in personality. Colin is a charismatic fellow with a quick wit and awesome sense of humor. But he does like to talk. A lot. And sometimes that annoys customers when they just want to load their kitty litter and diapers into their trunk and haul ass because they are late for their kid's soccer game. I get it. But for those who take the time to listen to what Colin is saying, he will always make their day.
So, as I heard the guy getting gruff with my main man, I spoke up. SHOCKINGLY I wasn't a total bitch to the rude customer. I just said, "Hey, Colin! What's the joke of the day?" He replied, "Manti Te'o." I, of course, had no idea who he was talking about. Yeah. Colin is both cooler and smarter than me. The rude customer, on the other hand, knew who Manti was and started laughing. Colin had finally gotten through to him. The customer thanked Colin and left with a smile. And maybe a changed point of view. Colin is the bomb like that.
Once we were done checking out, I gave Colin a high five and my daughter and I went about our day. A day that was a little brighter because Colin and his endless jokes were a part of it.
The best part of this interaction? My daughter was a part of it. She saw me treat a person with kindness that others might treat like they were below them. I hope she learns that we treat all people with respect, regardless of their religion, sexual preference, age, race, abilities or economic status. Because everybody is somebody's baby. And they deserve to be treated like a person. Just like everyone else.
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<3 Love this. Kindness has become my new way of life. And sarcasm. But mostly kindness. Sometimes.
ReplyDeleteHa. Sarcasm may be first in my arsenal.
DeleteThank you for showing your daughter the way all should be treated no matter their abilities!
ReplyDeletethanks, K!
DeleteI love this! Thanks for being that person. I love that you not only treat Colin like the awesome person he is, but in bridging the gap between him and the other customer you might have nudged that customer to do the same from now on (fingers crossed!) which is a double win! :-)
ReplyDeletewe can only hope...
DeleteThis is lovely! I hope to teach my son the same.
ReplyDeleteThis is lovely! I hope to teach my son the same.
ReplyDeleteLove this. The awesome momma award of the day goes to you, my friend (my friend who I have never met, but who gets me [and many other warrior mamas] through my crazy ass days).
ReplyDeleteThank you.
you complete me, Katherine!
DeleteWill loves Colin, too. They talk in circles with each other... the other day I think they waxed poetic on The Beatles for what felt like a half hour. Thank you for being such an awesome lady!! J has a great role model.
ReplyDeleteOF COURSE Will loves him. My god I would like to just be a fly in one of their convos!
DeleteCongratulations on not going into total bitch mode too. That would've been hard to resist.
ReplyDeleteit was SO hard!
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ReplyDeletegood for you!! this is great!!!
ReplyDeletei just found and started reading your blog last week.. then spent the majority of my work week reading all your archives to catch up.. im sure my boss would love to hear all about it.. i think your the greatest!!! this blog is hilarious, heart warming and a great reminder (which i desperately need sometimes) that moms are people too, not just moms.. now instead of reading the paper with my morning coffee, i read you.. SOOO much better!!
yay, erin! thanks so much!
DeleteThat was the perfect way to defuse that situation - good for you for thinking on your feet! (PS I have no idea who that Manti person is either, but he was all over Facebook a couple days ago - I never bothered to Google him.)
ReplyDeleteI asked a friend. I am so clueless...
DeleteLove this. As a person who used to work with special needs, things such as this always warm my heart.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful interaction! I love it!
ReplyDeleteThat was so awesome I teared up, I'm sure with the example your setting TQC and CC will take the lesson to heart!
ReplyDeleteaw, sorry. Ha.
DeleteI love that you linked to nellas triple crown. Kelle is amazing!
ReplyDeleteHopefully it made some sort of difference there today.
DeleteWay to go, mama! I try to remember to model the behavior I want to see, but it's good to have a reminder. Especially when your 1 1/2 year old just started saying "oh, crap." I don't know who she hears that from on a daily basis. *whistles, looks at ceiling*
ReplyDeleteI am not even going to say what my daughter repeated to me the other day...
DeleteYou are so awesome! More people need to be like that...sad that most of them aren't
ReplyDeleteit is, sara.
DeleteAwww...that made my day after a super-yuck 3-hour glucose test.
ReplyDeletehope you passed!
DeleteNice job. I can't stand when people are rude to those in the service industry.
ReplyDeleteSeriously!
Delete