Daily Life Lessons
My kids and I stopped at Kmart the other day to use my IFit Studio rewards points that I 
had earned the week before. We finished shopping and there was one lane open.
I was a little annoyed and there were quite a few people in line. I noticed that the one employee checking everyone out seemed frustrated and later told me that she was actually the manager, but the cashier didn’t show up, so she was the only one available to help all of the customers waiting.
This could have been a very frustrating situation. I couldn’t change the situation and so I decided not to let it bother me.
All of the sudden, the woman in front of us put her laundry detergent down and scurried away. She was holding her spot in line by placing the detergent on the floor.
It reminded me of Zumba. I’m not sure if they do this in every Zumba class, but it’s a funny thing that has been universal in all of the classes I have been to. If we see a water bottle in the middle of the floor, we just know that it is there to save someones spot.
We respect the water bottle and leave them their personal space to come back to. It’s obvious when someone is new because they stand right next to the water bottle, not realizing this unspoken rule.
Better not take my Zumba spot!
I have never seen someone do this outside of Zumba. I’m not sure if she was intimidated to talk to me? Maybe she’s been to too many Zumba classes? Maybe she’s just rude and thinks the world revolves around her? Or maybe I don’t get out enough and this is now a thing?
Without looking at me or saying anything, how did she know that I would realize that is what she was doing? There was no way of her knowing that I might understand the rules of Zumba.
Does she think the detergent holds the same sacred powers as the water bottle? As the line moved up, I have a choice; Do I wait behind the detergent? Do I step over it? Do I move it out of line and make her go through the line again? The thought crossed my mind, but I just didn’t feel right about it. I decided to wait.
It was really such a small act, but it made me think of a few things about life in general. Lessons that I’m trying to teach my kids:
- Communication is key. If she would have just asked me to save her spot for a minute, I would have. Why not just talk to people. I think you’d be surprised at how nice they (most) will be.
- Don’t jump to conclusions. We never know what someone’s going through, why not be nice to everyone we meet? Maybe she needed to get home quickly to her family . Why not allow that? In the end is it really a big deal anyway? Maybe it was just a cultural difference? Not sure where they would do this, but maybe?? (see pic below)
- Think before reacting. We choose how we react to each situation. Is it worth the fight? Don’t assume the worst. A positive attitude goes a long way and I believe in choosing my battles. I have decided to intentionally choose happiness daily. This comes from deciding how I’m going to react to each situation that is presented throughout the day.
I ended up laughing about it a little bit with my kids. She returned, picked up her detergent, and took her place back in line. A few other people were watching and seemed to think it was funny. It didn’t really hurt anyone to wait the extra 2 minutes it took for her to checkout in front of us.
Although, I could have turned a good day into something much different if I would have made a big deal about it; In the end it was insignificant and I am glad that I chose to react in a positive way and just laugh it off.
This small thing also reminded me that the biggest lessons we can teach our kids are sometimes through the smallest day to day interactions.
If you are interested, please visit my other post on free Zumba classes in Utah. I would also love to for you to share your stories in the comments below about how you teach your kids through every day moments.
The zumba spot thing is no joke. I will literally hit anyone who gets into my space- I don’t care. My spot is my spot.
Haha! I get it! 🙂
Such an interesting article ! I’ve only done Zumba a handful of times but absolutely loved it! Such great exercise! Your take on it was funny but so true 🙂
I love Zumba and go as often as I can, but the little things we do there can be so funny!
Lovely post – really liked reading it. You write really well! I’m the same, my spot is my spot! I like my own space too much
Thank you! I’m so new at this and still trying to figure out everything that goes along with blogging. I like my space in Zumba too 🙂
Lol who knew you could learn this from a bottle of detergent? I agree about Zumba everyone needs to respect personal space! It did make me laugh!
I love that the water bottle really is the universal zumba spot holder! Its crazy that she did that with a bottle of detergent. Too funny.
It was so funny! I was just so confused at first. She really caught me off guard.
just after I started reading your post I went to look for an image of a flip flops que in Bagkok, and after I found I also saw it in the end of your post! So funny!
http://www.siniciliya.com
That was the first thing I thought of too. I only wish I knew who took the picture originally.
Such a funny & honest look at Zumba. I love it! So funny.
Haha! It was funny at the time 🙂
Your zumba spot is my yoga spot. It’s an unspoken rule. That’s my spot. Ha! The mystery photo is awesome.
SO true!
Zumba looks fun. I’ve never tried it. I heard there is a Zumba class near my place. I will check it out.
I know it’s not for everyone, but I love it.
That’s funny. I’ve never seen someone do that. I don’t know what I would of thought. I might of thought she was leaving and decided she hated the detergent LOL.
Haha! If I didn’t have Zumba to relate it to, I might not have got it 🙂
Those are great lessons to be teaching your kids! The zumba reference made me laugh!
It was funny. lol
I have a similar story about Zumba. when you go for the firs ttime and someone doesn’t mark their spot, but it the THE spot they ALWAYS go to you are the bad guy…even if you didn’t know. People are kind weird about stuff like that. Same with seats at church. haha.
SO true! I’ve noticed that. I usually go to the same area, but I don’t freak out if someone takes “my” spot. I figure it’s not really that big of a deal. I have seen that with church seats too! I didn’t think of that. lol
I had no idea about the bottle holding strategy, I’d have been totally LOST! Now I know! 😉
Yeah, I can always tell when there are new people in the class because of little things like this 🙂 It is funny that they do that though.
Now I know the special rule in Zumba class -:) These kind of communication can be funny, but also can be annoying if you don’t know the rule.
True! It is a silly rule
That is a funny story. It’s silly that she didn’t think to say, “would you mind holding my spot in line? I’ll be right back”. I feel like as adults we should be able to communicate but perhaps she was in a hurry. All you can do is laugh it off! 🙂
I thought it was funny too. It would be easier if more people communicated more clearly.
It’s amazing how some people have problems with communication. She could have easily said “Would you mind if I go grab X?” I’ve seen plenty of people do that before and had no problem. But to leave your detergent there as a spot saver? That’s something new!
That’s what I thought. I would have saved her spot 🙂
That was a great article to read! I’ve never been to Zumba so I would have wondered what the heck she was doing! Too funny!
It is funny! If it ever works out and you ever want to go… let me know 🙂
I know this post i quite old now, But i love it. I can tell you (im a Zumba instruktor), the water bottle trick is still outhere! 🙂 I see it every week in my classes. And its global. So best greetings to you from Denmark 🇩🇰 Mia