Last night my husband and I went to a movie: Avatar 3D IMAX. We tried to go on Sunday, but the showings were sold out, so we bought tickets for Monday evening.
When we left an hour early for the theater I made sure I had the tickets with me, but when we got to the theater I couldn't find them anywhere. I searched every pocket of my purse, my jeans, my jacket. I thought maybe I'd given them to my husband, but he didn't have them either.
"I must have left them in the car," I told my husband. "You stay here and I'll go back and check."
I walked back around the theater to where we'd parked the car, looking on the ground for the tickets along the way. I was so relieved when I looked in the window of the car and saw the tickets sitting on my seat. I quickly unlocked the car, grabbed the tickets, and headed back to the entrance of the theater.
By the time we got inside, the line of folks waiting to get into the movie was so long it wrapped around the corner and down the long hallway. We hurried to get in line so we could get into the show and, hopefully, find decent seats.
"Thanks for not getting mad," I told my husband while we were standing in line. "Thanks for not yelling."
"Why would I get mad?" he asked.
"Because I left the tickets in the car. Because I was stupid," I replied.
"First, you're not stupid. It could just as easily have been me. Second, the tickets were in the car and not lost somewhere along the way. And third, we're in line and we'll be into the movie in just a few minutes," he told me. "Would getting mad and yelling have changed any of that?"
"I guess not," I said. "But thanks anyway. I appreciate your patience."
"You're very welcome," he responded and kissed me on the forehead.
Recognize when people around you choose kindness, love, or forgiveness over anger, hatred or frustration. Let them know how much you appreciate that choice.
