Today Is Not Yesterday - Susan Lily Fiction

It's the waiting than can eat you inside to out, she thought  The time you have to spend in between sending a CV and then waiting to hear if your referees have been contacted and what, if anything, is going to stop you this time from getting a job.  All you wanted was a bit here and there; you weren't greedy.  You didn't hope to take a job from a young person starting out.  You just wanted to make sure you could afford the basics, like food and shelter.

As crippling a pain as bereavement, she'd been told this can be.  The urge to grieve is just moments away: she'd been here before and it ended up not working out.  "What makes you think that something different will happen today?" she cried.  "today is not yesterday" she heard.  "Who said that?" as she looked around and realised she was the only person in the room.  "Hello?  Is anyone there?  What do you mean by 'today is not yesterday'?  Well??? Speak up!!  I need to know!!"

She turned back to the mirror she'd been facing moments before.  The voice appeared again "Today is not yesterday.  It means that maybe, just maybe what you dread is not going to happen today.  Perhaps today will bring new joy: joy you've not known for some time.  Security for just a few months longer: a rainbow on the storm that you've been going through for too long."

She smiled, albeit a little sheepishly at her reflection and finished brushing her hair.  It was a glorious day and yes, today was going to be different to yesterday.  Today she had hope.

The Bigger Picture

It’s not how well things go when you are spending your money; it’s the attitude you are faced with if something goes wrong.  A purchase of expensive boots saw me with an accidental size difference from foot to foot.  Somewhere along the fitting of my boots the sizes went a bit amiss.  I just thought it was my feet since my left foot is bigger than the right.  It wasn’t until I had worn them for a few days and had noticed the size difference on the tongue that I realised it wasn’t my feet at all; one boot was a size 6 and the other a 7.

To be honest with you I was predicting a “tough titties” kind of attitude when I called up the store.  Instead, I was treated like a close friend.  The store manager was aghast that this had happened.  When I arrived back there all I wanted was the right sized shoe.  What I got was a completely new pair of boots and a gracious apology from the staff.  That was 8 years ago and not only am I still wearing the boots but I can remember clearly how wonderful the staff and management were to me over that incident.

I did go back too.  I purchased a second pair of the same expensive boots in a different colour.  

I’ve also checked online and the store is still there.  Why wouldn’t it be; it’s the attitude that keeps them going.  They have seen the bigger picture and so have their loyal customers.