Waiting

I took six packages to the post office the other day. I had planned to go early in the morning to beat the rush, but by the time I finished taping up the last package, I didn’t manage to leave the house until 12:20 p.m. I considered putting off the trip until the next morning, but then decided to get it out of the way and off my mind.

The parking lot was full, as it always is this time of year, so I knew there would be a wait.

However, the thing I was dreading the most was not the long line, nor that fact that there might only be one clerk at the counter. What I was preparing myself for were the other customers complaining about the wait to their captive audience. It’s not unusual for people stuck in a line together to bond through their common experience in a pleasant, “we’re in this together” kind of feeling. The mood is often quite the opposite at the post office. 

While I waited for my turn, I watched the lone employee methodically helping each customer with an impressive combination of courtesy, efficiency and patience. When I got to the counter, she asked if I had been waiting long, and even though I had, I said that at this time of year I just factor the extra time into my schedule. Then I told her what I had been thinking while I waited; that she had the patience of Job. She smiled and said “I have to pray about that every day”.

I wish customers would keep in mind that the people behind the counter or out in the neighborhoods delivering our mail do not deserve our wrath. The employees on the front lines are simply trying to do their jobs in a business climate that is changing dramatically. I just want to say thanks to the people at the post office on McLaughlin Run Road—nice job!