Zip It Up

It was a Monday. I was only an hour and a half (11:30am) into my four hour shift when a catastrophe arose in the grocery-side men’s bathroom for me. When I went to zip up my black pants, the zipper broke. I knew it was against store rules to wear the red company work shirt untucked. I looked down, and realized pinning the area would be a rather unsafe option (as accident prone as I am). I didn’t want to prick myself, or have to undo the safety pin eveytime I went to the bathroom.

 With my daughter’s busy schedule, I was uncertain she could bring me another pair of pants before the end of my shift. I couldn’t leave the zipper open (exposing my underwear) as I did not want both customers and employees reminding me my fly was open. I quickly stepped into the handicap stall, and locked the door.

I quickly adjusted the suspenders on my bare skin, and put the shirt back on as it covered the problem area of my pants. Any man who has ever worn suspenders under an untucked shirt knows this one basic rule. You always wear a t-shirt underneath. It stops strap rubbing on your flesh in a variety of places, and keeps the adjustment clips from scraping you in two rather sensitive areas.

When I finally returned to my greeting location (at the other end of the store), it felt much better to not have all that material crammed in my pants. Air was getting in there. This was not the way I wished to get my way in being a rebel with the dress code. I was absolutely paranoid my boss was going to see me bucking the system like this. (This wasn’t on purpose.)

“Brandon” did not disappoint me. Though others had gotten away with this dress code infraction, a greeter was different. That’s what I thought Brandon felt. I was the face of the store, and had to look professional.

(I really don’t feel tucked or untucked was a big deal to any of the guests during my work shift.) When I explained to Brandon the reason I couldn’t honor his request, he said he understood. I didn’t want to make his job any more difficult.

Have you ever prayed (or wished) for something, and got it? Did it turn out the way you expected it would? Were you happy with the results? Can you relate to the chorus of the song Home (performed by Chris Daughtry)?

“Be careful what you wish for

You just might get it all

And some you don’t want

You just might get it all, yeah.”

The only thing I have any control of in my life in general are my own actions. For example, I can get mean and bitter over those in my workplace who disobey the rules, but in the end my incapacity to control the actions of others makes me the kind of employee no one wishes to be around because I’m hateful and sarcastic. This sounds like excellent advice for life in general in making things easier for you.