Perspective

I had an encounter today, much like the one Ryan had with the homeless man and the two dollar toy boat.

Yesterday, a customer of mine bought a Derek Alexander hobo bag after ogling it and humming and hawing over it. She seemed pretty happy with it and I was excited for her, as I always am when someone buys a hot new purse. (I know. I'm a nerd.)

She came back a few hours later, feeling guilty over spending so much money on herself, and opted for a clearance Franco Sarto bag. Again, the bag was hot, but she still seemed a bit on the fence about the price tag. It was obvious to me that she wasn't as thrilled with this purse as the Derek Alexander she was returning in exchange for it...but it was more practical, her words, and so she could justify this one a bit more.

The poor woman came back today and looked embarassed as she asked to return the Franco Sarto bag. It turns out she couldn't justify buying it...not with figuring out finances with her two children in tow.

You could tell she wanted to treat herself but she felt guilty spending money that could be used towards more important endeavours. But she still wanted a knockout purse that would make her feel young and trendy.

All of a sudden she confided in me that her husband had abandoned her and the children just six months ago. It was apparent it was all still painfully fresh in her thoughts. I mean, how could it not be?

I realized what a spoiled little brat I was being.

Here I am, moaning and whining about a guy who ditched me after less than a week. And there this woman was, she invested a good portion of her life (I'm guessing at least 10 years based on the age of her kids.) with this man and she got ditched, too. Not only did she get ditched but this man left her kids as well. At least when a guy hurts me I am the only one who gets hurt.

And at least my situation is such that I can be frivolous with my money and buy little things that aren't quite necessary but fun to have.

At that moment I wished I could give her an incredible deal on some purse she wanted, just to cheer her up. But I didn't want to jeopardize this job either (until I find my better place). Plus I was at a loss for what to say after our little talk. So I just wished her good luck in finding the perfect purse that she would be happy with. (Lame, I know, but what else could I say as a sales associate?)

And she said "Yeah, but sadly I've figured out that finding something that'll make you happy for a little while is useless if you're not happy yourself. You have to find that happiness inside first."

Then it hit me...I still have a lot of happiness inside of me, and it's absolutely ridiculous that I'm letting this one guy poison all of that. Not that I didn't already know this deep inside of me, but I was letting it get all out of proportion.

I'm still pissed off that I let him have that effect on me, though. I shouldn't have let it happen, but what can you do, huh?