The other day I was at McDonalds. We ordered lunch and some ice cream sundaes. This was the first time we'd been able to order ice cream from there for weeks because for some reason, the machine was broken and no one wanted to fix it. This time, we were getting our ice cream, but as we drove up to the window, I made a decision about how we would receive it.
Just as I suspected, as soon as we pulled up, the woman tried to hand me the ice cream. I asked her, politely, how long it would be on the food. She told me it would be a few minutes. I requested, again politely, if she would keep the sundaes inside until the rest of the food was ready. The temperature was in the high 90s and I don't have the best AC. She nodded like this hadn't occurred to her and did just that. When the food was ready, we were given both the meal and non-melty ice cream at once.
Why am I telling you this mundane stuff about my life? Because for me, this moment of being practical and assertive is far from mundane. Normally, I would just accept the ice cream first, full of exasperation and annoyance, then mutter curse words as I watched it melt while I waited for the rest of my meal. Why would I do this? Because I didn't want to be a bother. Seriously. I didn't want to bother people to do the practical version of their job.
I think if any aspect of me is maturing at all (the jury is still out on this) it is the part of me that will speak up about things like this. I'm less concerned with how people see me. I will be polite, of course, because I know they're just doing their job, but I certainly want to be handled in the best way possible. Besides, no one should have to suffer melty ice cream.
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