inching towards maturity

The other morning I was browsing the produce aisles at the local grocery store when I spied a pile of cucumbers. Ah, cucumbers, I thought. You most benign of green vegetables. Perhaps it's time to give you a try again with the kids and help them expand their repertoire beyond the occasional broccoli floret.

So I reached for a cuke, but it was the wrong cuke to reach for, because it sent part of the pile tumbling. In a total spazz-out moment, I lurched to grab the falling veggies with my right hand and at the same time inadvertently squeezed the mocha I was holding in my left hand so that there was a little frothy explosion out the lid and then a spray of hot beverage on the celery stalks below.

I found the produce guy farther down the aisle and said, "Excuse me, I'm really sorry but I somehow managed to create a little spill over by the celery and I just wanted to let you know...."

He looked at me. "It's probably not a good idea to hold your drink over the produce," he said. And then he turned back to stocking the shelves.

The old me would have said, "Excuse me?" or, "Well you're in a bad mood today, aren't you?" or, "Are you always this rude to customers?" The old me would have wanted to get into a fight.

But the new me just walked away from him--and then promptly found a manager to report him to.

Now, the ideal me would have brushed off his remark and gone on with my day. But still, this is progress. Right?