A slice of Life

So today I was scanning groceries at work like a normal person, when one of my bosses told me to shut off my register light and come find him after I had finished ringing up my customer. Normally when this happens I get a positive cashier review or I'm allowed to go home early, but it never fails, when I'm told an authority wants to see me, I'm convinced I'm convicted of the utmost worst crime and the world as we know it will come to a crashing halt. It's like when a cop car passes you--that "oh shit" moment, like you Jay-walked at the wrong time or something.

So, trembling like a puppy who'd just been caught chewing up the sofa, I found my boss, silently followed him behind the front desk and to the back room. In front of me was a gigantic white sheet cake with raspberry filling. Do you know when was the last time I had raspberry filling? Last week! And that's like, decades ago! So I give my boss a kind of quizical look, and he just nonchalantly shrugs and says, "hey, want a piece of cake?"

To which, I obviously reply, "is that a rhetorical question?" Except not really, because on some occasions, I do try to keep my nerdiness on the DL. Like during times I say DL. But as I was chomping away on the greatness that was this cake, I learned that it was the customer service desk manager's birthday, and she had chosen specific people with whom she wanted to share this dessert. While we'd always been friendly to each other--and once even braved the fiasco of a bird with an injured wing outside Wegmans--I didn't stop to think that people could form a relationship with  someone that passed them by a couple times a week. It struck me that this exchange of pleasantries that had built up throughout the year made for a connection that may not have been flashing with a bunch of neon signs, but it was there, in its own quiet way.

You don't have to shower people with every passing thought to create ties with them. Today I found out you just have to show up, be polite, and be patient. People notice the quiet ones, eventually. And they put you on the VICE list (very important cake eaters). Which is always a quality list to be on.

It's the little things. The cliché is there for a reason.

Namaste.