Wednesday, October 26, 2016

How to treat a human being

I had to go get my glucose test today, which I think might be my least favorite procedure of pregnancy. Drinking that sugary orange drink, hanging out for an hour feeling disgusting and left out because I'm the only customer at the lab not dressed in camo, and then getting blood drawn (hands down, I cry every time)... Nothing about it is a positive experience, and I usually end up vomiting, almost passing out, or both.

When I finished today, I decided to reward myself and pop through a drive-through. When I got to the ordering speaker, I heard a friendly voice, "Hi, this is Victor, how can I help you?" I smiled and said, "Hi, Victor, how are you doing today?" to which he replied, "Well, I could use a shot of whiskey. How about you?"

I was so startled that I started to laugh and responded, "Well, I'm pregnant, so I'm going to have to stick with something a little tamer." I finished my order and waited a few minutes in line to get to the window. When I got there, I smiled as I handed him my card. Come to find out, he had discounted my order, so I ended up paying only a few dollars, and he told me, "Thank you so much for treating me like a human being. You're the first person who's done that all day."

Okay, so I'm pregnant, and I almost cried, first for his bad day, and second for his kindness in spite of it. I thanked him profusely, and as I drove off we were both smiling. But I was so thankful that I put aside my inconvenient morning and took the time to be kind. Not even unusually kind, but just how I would normally be (without being stuck with needles and drained of my blood).

Anyway, just a reminder to treat all human beings like human beings. I guess we all need that every now and then.

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