Box of Scraps | RANDOM II

62 | holidays

Ever since I was a child, Christmas has been my absolute favorite time of the year. It was one of the few times of the year my mom and dad stopped fighting for us kids, and we all got to go over to my Grandma and Grandpa's place, and eat Christmas dinner, which was made by both my grandparents and my mom, and just spend time with my family. My aunt would show up long enough to drop off our presents, and then leave (which was how I liked it as I'm not exactly a big fan of my aunt). We'd open our presents, but that was never what us kids looked forward to the most. We loved our stockings Grandma and Grandpa, as they were almost always stuffed full of Grandma's cookies and several other treats, almost all of it being homemade. 

Then, my parents got divorced. My brothers and I stayed with our mom, moving a good two hours away, and our dad moved in with my grandparents (his parents), and we got one more Christmas with our grandparents. Then, that next February, Grandpa died from diabetes and Grandma got her cancer back for the third time, this time giving up. In July, she passed away. 

That next Christmas, my mom wouldn't go, and us kids did, and we were stuck with having Christmas at my Aunt's. She fussed over me, told me I wasn't 'girly enough' and then most of my gifts from her were things I would never actually use, things that I pretty much threw away the moment I got home. She had arranged place settings for us, and she placed me in between my dad (who I absolutely 100% can not stand in any capacity and try to stay as far away from as possible) and my one uncle who always smells like piss and just gives me really bad vibes. 

Guess what though? I still had a good Christmas, especially when we went back to our mom's and she had another Christmas dinner just for us. 

Christmas went on like that for the next few years, until I finally told my mom I couldn't take going over to my aunt's for Christmas, that going there just made me feel like absolute shit afterwards. (By this point I had started working for Wal-Mart and my aunt hates Wal-Mart because she's stuck up like that and hates anything that's meant for 'poor people', so she kept pressuring me to quit my job and find another place to work). My mom told me I didn't have to go, so I faked being sick when it came to Christmas. 

Still, I loved Christmas, it was such a good time of year, and really, nothing could particularly ruin it. 

And then Wal-Mart did. 

I still love Christmas, mind you, but I fucking hate working it. And I don't even mean Black Friday (or as us people at Wal-Mart call it, Black Thanksgiving, just because it starts Thanksgiving night), because while I get anxious every year on that day, it's normally controlled enough that I don't have to worry too much, and the one CSM who was working this year who was in charge of my half of the store knew about my anxiety and stress so he constantly made sure I was alright through the whole event. I mean the days from December 1 - December 24, because those are the crazy days when customers are complete assholes to you the most. It's during those 24 days that we are so understaffed because Wal-Mart doesn't know how to fucking staff most of the time, and so we don't have enough cashiers. It's during those times that customers are in the most rush and are more snappy the longer it takes you to help out other customers. It's during those days that they get the most upset because according to them, the four hundred dollar drone they're buying for their kid who's gonna break it in one fucking day was marked for two hundred and fifty dollars instead, and we should give it to them for the price they demand it is, even though someone else who works back in that department even tells them its four hundred dollars. 

Please, please, if you decide to go to a retail store during the Christmas holidays at any point, please be mindful of a few things: 

1) There are more than likely going to be long lines. It's the Holiday season, so people are going to be buying a load of shit. And there's going to be issues with things, so please be patient and don't take it out on the retail worker. 

2) As you get closer to Christmas, the chances of things being out in highly increased. If it's something you have a feeling is going to be popular that year, either buy it early or buy it offline. If it's four days before Christmas and the item you're looking for isn't in the store, don't complain and don't ask if we're getting more in before Christmas. Chances are, they are not. 

3) Please be mindful that there are people who will throw shit back in the incorrect spot. If something seems like a really good deal, or if it's the only thing of that item in that spot, find someone who can tell you what the price is (or, I know Wal-Mart and Target at least have scanners around the store that tell you how much something is. If whatever store you're in has those, find one and make sure it's the price it was listed for, and don't throw a fit because you can't have $150 knocked off because it's literally in the wrong spot).

4) Ask for gift receipts on whatever before the cashier starts scanning. Most of us will ask you if you want gift receipts, but I know that I forget some times if I'm extremely stressed. So, make sure you ask before, because while we can do it after we start scanning, and after we scanned your item you want on a gift receipt, there is no way for us to give you one after you've paid. 

5) And most importantly, just be patient and put yourself in our shoes. Would you appreciate having to work eight hours a day and having multiple customers yelling at you for ridiculous shit? No, you would not. So, treat us the way you would want someone to treat you if you were working in retail. 

Alright, that's it for this. Hope you guys don't mind me ranting about having to work at my job during this time of year.