I really did not want to go to the town dump today. I did not want to deal with all the bags and the recyclables and the children in the car with me. It was raining and windy and cold. I really, really did not want to go to the dump.
But I also did not want all that crap hanging around and getting in my way anymore. So I gathered up all the trash and recyclables (and the children) and went. We got there fifteen minutes after it was supposed to be open. It was closed.
DAMMIT.
However! I had seen a car coming from the opposite direction as I was turning into the dump. The road the dump is on is so unpopulated that I thought the odds of that car belonging to the dump lady were pretty good. So I waited a minute. Sure enough, the car turned in to the dump and the dump lady got out and started opening up the gate and unlocking the dumpsters.
I waited until she had parked her car and gotten everything set up before I drove in. I greeted her cheerfully (I'm a big believer in fake cheeriness for the sake of politeness--it wasn't her fault I was grumpy) and started sorting the recyclables to give her time to get everything ready before I drove up the ramp to the trash dumpster to throw in my two bags and pay her.
But when I got out my wallet, she told me there was no charge and thanked me for being patient. Hooray!
You are so welcome, dump lady. And thank you for the kind gesture. It was much appreciated on a grumpy Wednesday morning.
2 comments:
I hope people click the link and read your 2008 posting about going to the dump. It's pretty funny.
Always pays to be nice! I had an 8th grade history teacher who would act cheerier the shittier he felt. He said we could tell if he was having a bad morning (our class was first period) if he seemed extra happy. If he was whistling, it meant it was extra bad. I try to remember that and slap a smile on my face as I go out into the world with all my crabby bullshit boiling inside. It's true that you choose your attitude and that this influences how people act around you and this act can actually put you in a good mood.
Really like hearing when this works out. Yay dump lady!
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