a gift of grace that is.

Sometimes I like to think that I would enjoy working customer service. But this time of year I completely change my mind.

So, this morning I was thinking. You know the kind when you are drying your hair upside down (anybody)?

But, it hit me that there were a few gifts not on my list this year. 
-some extra patience for the longer line at Wal-mart customer service this time of year
-the opportunity to walk from the back of the Target parking lot, might need a pedometer to log them too
-a large tip for the waitress who is missing any personal celebration in the month of December so she can serve mine
-another set of Grace Goggles.

Seriously we make a list of things to do or gifts we need to give and then check it twice. It includes the guy at work we don’t ever talk to, our grumpy cat lady neighbor, the receptionist at our salon, another mailbox ornament for the mailman and the vet who takes care of our dog (of course we use a stamp pad so they can sign their name, why would you even ask!). But, we keep our selfie camera on when it comes to our own personal service list. 
-we think the line should be short when we go back to Wal-mart to return something. 
-we think the front spot should always be open when we pull in to our favorite retail store. 
-we forget that Santa might need a break to eat some protein while he spends the day at our local mall with our kids who cry the moment they see him. Yet he still puts a smile on a tries to make our Christmas card picture perfect. 
-speaking of cards, we get grumpy with the guy on the other end of the phone when the online program we used crashes like he was sitting there with an of switch when he saw us sign in.
-we can’t even begin to think it might take an extra day or 2 for our packages to come to our front doorstep since we didn’t actually go out and get them. Never mind the fact that a man gets up at 2:30am to drive to a distribution center and load our box on the truck giving up Thanksgiving and extra moments with his family to put our box on that truck. (please tell me you leave out a snack basket! 
-we gripe at our spouse when we get ready to make our perfect Christmas fudge and there is no sweetened condensed milk in our cabinet and someone has to go to the store in the middle of cooking 

You see where I’m going? That selfie camera has made us spend so much time with the camera turned inwards that we forget that the way the camera was designed was to be turned outward. Yea like from the beginning, cameras were intended to capture moments as they happen with us behind the lens. 

So what happens if “thank yous” and smiles are part of the gift list (you know they are free, right?). What if you double the tip for one extremely helpful wait staff? What if you gave Santa a candy cane (or a $5 spot)? What if you stood patiently in the return line, you should have tried those pants on first? You could be the first breath of fresh air today. What if you waved to the Fed Ex/Ups/postman for once instead of being grumpy about “getting behind that slow truck”. I challenge you to look at your to do list. Is it full of things that spread cheer, extend smiles, and give away? If not, might be time to get a new notepad.