I was having kind of a bad day so far. I couldn't sleep that night and had to get up at 6 to work. I worked til 11 at the Union coffee shop like I normally do, but then instead of continuing to work there until 1:30 I was suppose to head over to Barry hall at 11:30 and work at the coffee shop there. Barry hall is in the downtown part of ndsu which meant I had to get in my car and drive there. This made me crabby. It would have been much more convenient to just continue to work where I was, but they needed someone to fill the spot. I had never been there and had no idea where to park. So it was hectic getting there to say the least. By the time I finally made it, it was exactly 11:30 and I wasn't in the best of moods. That quickly changed though as soon as I met Lavonne. Lavonne is the head employee at Barry Hall's coffee shop, and easily one of the happiest people I've met. She is an older lady, but had the energy of a little kid. She greeted me with so much joy and was very grateful to have me, as she needed someone who could run the cash register and make the coffee drinks while she made the sandwiches. I felt really appreciated. Throughout the shift, I couldn't believe how many people came and gave her hugs. It seemed as if she personally knew every single customer. When there was no customers to be served talked non-stop to me. She asked me about my life and told me about hers. She talked about all the places she lived, her two sons, and her husband. Lavonne called herself a jack of all trades. She was once a head cook at a high school, where it sounds like she was like a grandma to all the students. Lavonne also was an EMT for 10 years, and worked in banking. She said she had to get out of banking though because nobody liked her there. She said that she absolutely loves people, so working at a coffee shop would be perfect for her. Better than calling someone with bad news about their account which results in them yelling at her. She just wants to make people happy, so she thought why not give them coffee?! I can from experience say she is very good at her job. Some of the student employees have been with her for seven years! They just don't wanna leave her. When ndsu moves Lavonne to another spot, they all move with her. Throughout my shift I started to realize how special this lady was. She made everyone smile. Maybe that's part of the reason why I loved her so much, because that's exactly how my Grandpa was. They really are a lot alike.
During a slow part of the shift, Lavonne was telling me how her husband gets to retire soon and how nice that will be. He is a custodian at ndsu, and has also lived an eventful life. I responded to her saying how I think he will really enjoy it, especially since they have another grandkid on the way. After saying that she paused for a brief second, and went on to tell me how he has been diagnosed with leukemia and the doctors have given him a year to live. She said it's okay though, and that she tells all of her students. I didn't know what to say. She was so positive still, and it sounded like her husband is too. Even with the chemo treatments, he never misses a day of work. I have heard people talking about him, but I didn't realize it was her husband. This moment has really been sticking with me. Here I was having a poor attitude because of a small inconvenience, and this lady comes to work everyday with so much enthusiasm and happiness when she has much greater problems than me. I have seen how much she impacts some of these peoples lives first hand, and now she has impacted mine. I am so thankful that I got sent over to Barry hall yesterday morning, and I am so thankful I got to meet Lavonne. I'm going to try and be more like her now. I'm going to make the best of unfortunate situations, and see the beauty in small, simple things. Yesterday was a gorgeous day, and I should have just been happy that I had the opportunity to work and make a little money. Sometimes I let little things get the best of my emotions. Hopefully I will get better at that now.
So to put my new inspired self to the test, God gave me a parking ticket...two minutes before I got back to my car... That guy sure has a sense of humor.
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