Stephanie Cole

There I was in my black skirt and my white blouse and ready to go the first day. And I had been trained very, very quickly. And as is true in a department store during Christmas, it was just bustling. You know how it is at Christmas when everybody's out shopping and everybody's in a hurry.

There I was in my black skirt and my white blouse and ready to go the first day. And I had been trained very, very quickly. And as is true in a department store during Christmas, it was just bustling. You know how it is at Christmas when everybody's out shopping and everybody's in a hurry.

And all these people around, this woman comes up to me with, I think, a Christmas tree ornament she wanted to buy. And I freeze. I just freeze. All of a sudden, I can't remember anything. I can't remember how to run the cash register. I can't remember anything about the transactions. I am just absolutely frozen and probably very close to tears.

And all these people around, this woman comes up to me with, I think, a Christmas tree ornament she wanted to buy. And I freeze. I just freeze. All of a sudden, I can't remember anything. I can't remember how to run the cash register. I can't remember anything about the transactions. I am just absolutely frozen and probably very close to tears.

I so wanted this to go right and it was going so wrong. She looked at me and paused and with such a kind expression on her face said, It's all right. Take your time. I'm not in a hurry. And that was the release. All of a sudden, I could breathe. I could wait till somebody else could help me. It was going to be okay.

I so wanted this to go right and it was going so wrong. She looked at me and paused and with such a kind expression on her face said, It's all right. Take your time. I'm not in a hurry. And that was the release. All of a sudden, I could breathe. I could wait till somebody else could help me. It was going to be okay.

It made such an impression that all these years later, not only do I still remember it, but I I find myself, those words coming out of my mouth on numerous, many, many occasions over the years. You know, you encounter somebody who's first day on the job or they're just having a bad day and things are really, you can tell they're in a bad place. And you can say, it's okay. I'm not in a hurry.

It made such an impression that all these years later, not only do I still remember it, but I I find myself, those words coming out of my mouth on numerous, many, many occasions over the years. You know, you encounter somebody who's first day on the job or they're just having a bad day and things are really, you can tell they're in a bad place. And you can say, it's okay. I'm not in a hurry.

Take your time. And it always makes the situation better. Always, always. And so this woman, I can't really remember her face. And certainly she's probably dead by now, given how old I was and how old she was. But she gave me that gift. And without knowing, she gave me that gift. And it's lasted all these years.

Take your time. And it always makes the situation better. Always, always. And so this woman, I can't really remember her face. And certainly she's probably dead by now, given how old I was and how old she was. But she gave me that gift. And without knowing, she gave me that gift. And it's lasted all these years.

There I was in my black skirt and my white blouse and ready to go the first day. And I had been trained very, very quickly. And as is true in a department store during Christmas, it was just bustling. You know how it is at Christmas when everybody's out shopping and everybody's in a hurry.

And all these people around, this woman comes up to me with, I think, a Christmas tree ornament she wanted to buy. And I freeze. I just freeze. All of a sudden, I can't remember anything. I can't remember how to run the cash register. I can't remember anything about the transactions. I am just absolutely frozen and probably very close to tears.

I so wanted this to go right and it was going so wrong. She looked at me and paused and with such a kind expression on her face said, It's all right. Take your time. I'm not in a hurry. And that was the release. All of a sudden, I could breathe. I could wait till somebody else could help me. It was going to be okay.

It made such an impression that all these years later, not only do I still remember it, but I I find myself, those words coming out of my mouth on numerous, many, many occasions over the years. You know, you encounter somebody who's first day on the job or they're just having a bad day and things are really, you can tell they're in a bad place. And you can say, it's okay. I'm not in a hurry.

Take your time. And it always makes the situation better. Always, always. And so this woman, I can't really remember her face. And certainly she's probably dead by now, given how old I was and how old she was. But she gave me that gift. And without knowing, she gave me that gift. And it's lasted all these years.