Crafting Some Beautiful Moments

I work in a large craft store. Most customers aren’t terrible, though there are a few “special” ones that ruin your week. This customer was the opposite.

She came in wanting to buy crafts to make with her nine-year-old grandson. I nanny two nine-year-old boys as a side job, so I volunteered to help her. It turns out her grandson lives abroad, and she hadn’t seen him since he was four, because travel is so expensive and she’s not in the best health.

We spent a good half hour walking around and finding cool things to do together, because she wasn’t totally sure what he would like. We covered all the bases, from dinosaurs, to outer space, to building, to painting, to costumes, and everything in between. It was fun. She was very nice, and almost vibrating with excitement about the upcoming visit. It gets better, though.

The next week, she came back in just to show me pictures of their awesome projects. I almost teared up. They built this entire mini-city, spending four straight days working together and bonding. He got to use a hand saw and hot glue and other tools, and in every picture he was covered in paint and dust and absolutely beaming.

Those pictures make all the mean customers and the sore feet worth it. Everyone loves feeling appreciated, and customer service workers don’t get nearly enough.

This story is part of our Crafting Roundup!

Read the first Crafting Roundup story!

Read the Crafting Roundup!