This is Jenny. Jenny has been my tailor for over a decade. In this pic, we're all smiles and Jenny is jokingly letting me know how she feels about me with her little sign over her head! :) But just last week, the air between us wasn't that friendly. And much of that is on me. I need to be better. And I will be. Here's the story:
Last week, I went to see Jenny to have some pants altered. Total cost? 102 dollars... I distinctly remember placing a 100 dollar bill on the counter and retrieving another 2 bucks from my car to complete the transaction. However, as you might have guessed, upon my return for pick-up, Jenny was fairly adamant that I hadn't paid and the receipt she showed me also indicated that I had not yet paid.
But I know I did.
Here's where things go south for me and where I don't like how I handled things… From there, I proceeded to plead my case assuring Jenny that I did indeed pay. Without going too far into the details, Jenny accepted my explanation and let me go with the pants in hand. However, I couldn’t shake the uncertainty in the air and in her eyes.
In my life, I live by a couple of principles. Here's 2 of them:
*Being right is overrated. What matters is how you make the other person feel
*Never let money get in the way of doing the right thing
Even though I was convinced in my mind that I was “right”, I don’t like that my priority during the initial exchange was “vindication” and not “grace”. All my efforts that day were geared towards being right without truly considering how Jenny felt.
As for the money… 102 dollars to me, means very little. That amount of cash will not affect my life in any significant way. However, to a seamstress who owns her little shop on the corner, 100 bucks means a lot. And I lost sight of that.
I remember calling my son Nash for advice. And together, we both agreed upon a course of action. So yesterday, I walked into Jenny’s Tailoring with an envelope in hand. Jenny and I immediately recapped our last transaction and how that all went down. I am now 100% sure that I paid in full from the beginning, with Jenny agreeing with me. But regardless of fault, I apologized for how I acted. Then I handed Jenny an envelope wishing her a Merry Christmas and exactly 102 dollars…
If you’re keeping score, this is an extra 102 dollars than I needed to pay. But that’s not what’s important here. I want Jenny to feel seen, heard, valued, and given the benefit of the doubt. I didn’t do that the first time, but I’m rectifying that now.
Jenny and I are back on good terms as evidenced by the picture. 102 dollars reinstated my good standing in the relationship. 102 dollars earned me a smile from Jenny and assured her that her word is as good as mine regardless of who’s right. 102 dollars solidified years of continued service with a smile. And a measly 102 dollars brought me a little self realization; that as a human, I’m still growing and need to keep my eyes towards improving every day.
Today is a good day.
And my pants fit spectacularly…
