Grocery Store Connection

The woman in the red vest, Kris, works at my neighborhood Fry's (Kroger) and I will never forget her.

A few months ago, I was having a rough day and had a little meltdown in my home office. It was probably work-related...not selling enough...not doing enough...etc. On days like that, during the hot Tucson summer, I would knock off early and go to the pool in my complex to decompress. Worked every time!

Later that day, I went to the grocery store and when I was checking out, Kris was having her own meltdown.

She is a supervisor and one of the associates told her that she's leaving early because she wasn't feeling well. Kris was already overwhelmed with a long line of customers and began to cry right in front of us. She continued to check me out, through her tears.

I felt her pain, as I had just melted down just a few hours earlier.

Ahhh...the life of an empath!

So I went behind the register and grabbed her with a big hug. I felt her sweat and tears on my neck, but didn't care. I don't even think I had a mask on (she did).

Again, I didn't care. I was connecting with Kris on a human level and nothing else mattered in that moment. I told her that everything was going to be ok and made her breathe (yoga breaths) with me.

Two months later, Kris was checking me out at Fry's. She told me that she had just come back to work after being out sick that whole time.

That memorable day, that moment in time, when we hugged and marked our connection...Kris didn't even know that she was sick. She didn't know that she would have surgery and be out of work for 2 months.

It's just good reminder, in case you need one, that we all have struggles, challenges, illnesses and meltdowns. Take a moment to see Kris as a human being and not just a random check-out lady at the grocery store. Kris matters as much as you matter.