Long term relationships require dedication, commitment, and understanding. We all know this. We all take this for granted when it comes to our relationships with family, friends, and significant others. We may even realize that these same ways of being are optimal for our relationship with our boss, employees, or coworkers.
It might be more rare that we consider that the same is true for other long term relationships. Even the ones we might think of as less necessary to our day-to-day wellbeing.
When we screw up in relationships or the other person does, especially these relationships that don’t involve family or a significant other, it can seem a lot easier to leave than to stay and work things out.
I was recently confronted by this choice involving the place where I buy cat food here in the Ravenswood neighborhood of Chicago. Up until that moment, I hadn’t thought much of the fact that I had been shopping at the same place for some months, and that the employees had come to know what I buy just based on seeing me. Little did I realize that I was in a long term relationship!
One day I came into the store, and I was in a big hurry. Everything that was going on, from the conversations the employees were having with other customers, to the line I waited in, felt like a MAJOR inconvenience for me. Looking back, this obviously seems extremely silly. And I don’t even remember why I thought I was in such a rush!
At the time though, I thought I was oh-so-important with the rush I was in (insert sarcastic tone here). To my dismay, when I got to the front of the line the employee began spending what felt like eons of time locating my account in a rewards program, even though I insisted I just wanted to buy my food and get out of the store. I don’t remember exactly how I left the store and what I might have said, but I was certainly in a real huff and made sure the employee was aware of my inconvenience (again, insert sarcasm).
In this day and age, we have so many choices about where to spend our time and money. How easy it would be for me, after this situation, to simply leave that store and never come back! Just think how easy life would be, if I could forget all about my annoyance with that employee my eventual embarrassment at my own behavior. I could just start over in another store where I hadn’t already made an ass out of myself and go on like nothing happened (excuse the language). We all do this at times– even subconsciously.
It’s never lost on me what a big deal it is, especially in this day and age, for you to choose care in our office –and for you to choose me as your chiropractor and choose Amber as your office assistant– every week over the long term. In committing to the health of your nervous system and spine regularly over the long term, you’re making a smart choice, of course.
But you’re also making a choice to be in a long term relationship with us. And there are moments in any long term relationship where all of us just want to leave and start over. Maybe you saw us on a bad day. Maybe we saw you on a bad day.
Here’s what I want you to know. You’re allowed to have a bad day. You can slam your keys down in anger. You can rush out the door in irritation. You can cry. You can find out that you forgot to come to a workshop you committed to coming to. You can think you hate the person on the table next to you. You can quit care. It can be uncomfortable. It can seem unfair.
It is our honor to serve you on your best days, when you’re being the self you wish to be, and on the days when you can’t hide the thoughts and feelings you wish you weren’t having. We thank you for allowing us to see you through thick and thin. And we acknowledge you for applying the same dedication, commitment, and understanding to how you experience us. Because we all have bad days.
Obviously I probably wouldn’t be writing about this if I chose never to return to that pet food store. What about the alternative? Did I simply go back to the store and pretend that nothing happened, and hope that they would too?
In this case, I made an alternative choice. I certainly can’t pretend that I always have the self awareness and commitment to integrity to clean up my incompletions. But on this particular occasion I called myself out in the best way I knew how– by taking to the pages of Yelp!
Click here to read my yelp:
https://www.yelp.com/biz/4-legs-chicago-2
Thank you for being in a long term relationship with us. I really appreciate what that takes. Thank you for letting us see you through your ups and downs. Thank you for seeing us through our ups and downs. Thank you for being a part of this community. We look forward seeing you this week for your care.
