I Forgot to Tell You About My Queue Buddy (& How You Always Have a Choice)

It’s 1 pm, the day before Christmas Eve and I’m standing a queue in my local supermarket.

To get to the end of it I’ve had to trail up the freezer aisles, wind round the bread and pitch up beside the chicken being roasted, the smell alone is enough to make me want to throw up, it’s a vegetarian thing.

30 trolleys are in front me with their temporary owners caring for their precision load, and they are complaining, huffing, tutting at how badly organised this place is and 2 days before Christmas as well!

They try to make eye contact so I can join them in their complaints.

I’m in a moment of choice. 

Do I add myself to the queue and join in the choir of complaint?

Do I abandon my load and call it a day?

Or.

Do I decide to take a deep breath, accept that long lines, today of all days, are unavoidable?

Do I decide to stop getting pissed off at things I cannot control. Get off the thrown. And make my decision to choose how I want to feel?

I breathe. Accept. Get in line without the drama.

No sooner had I made my choice my ankles get rammed by the trolley belonging to the lady behind me in the queue.

Immediately,

I’m in another moment of choice.

Let the pain rise to anger and frustration and stay without the drama. Or choose again.

I take a breath, smile, tell her not to worry, it’s fine and start a conversation.

80 minutes later and I’m paying for my shopping. My queue buddy is helping me pack, and I’m loading her wares onto the belt.

We are chattering away, laughing and by the time we’ve reached the end of our journey together we’ve even had take-away coffee from the shop in the store.

I’m away first, so I turn to my queue buddy, and to the weird glances from the man on the till, we give each other a big hug and we both agree that was the quickest 80 minutes and best queue conversation ever.

I wish her a merry one at her friends house where she’s heading to next, and that all her family make it safe home for Boxing Day, that she does start that qualification she’s been hankering after,

…you know how friends say goodbye, a summary of well wishes for the conversation just had. And she does the same.

We agree that if we see each other again, we will team up.

You’re always in a moment of choice.

You always get to decide how you feel about any situation.

Yes, things will appear at your ankles to suck you out of the state that gives you peace.

But, you are always in a moment of choice.

If you find you have made the wrong one, decide again.

It’s. That. Simple.

No? 

You’re always in a moment of choice.