Sometimes writing is like giving way. With elderly people I can be different even at work. They are not in an educational environment where my way of thinking and being collides with educational mainstream goals. Though I have to do my tasks I will also be able to be more authentic, more flexible … it sounds strange, what I just got “I can throw my light on them, just in how I am” but I know what it means.
To describe it I go back to a second job I had several years ago in Germany. I was simply working on the till in supermarket for 2 hours in the evenings. The customers loved me. They said things like this “When I come in and see you I need to smile” or “I prefer to do my shopping in the evening since you work here”. I learned to know them not on a deep level but it still surprised them sometimes how I “read” them in those few minutes on the till. I saw when they felt tired or distracted or if something joyful must have happened, I knew their buying habits and sometimes asked them if they didn’t forget something. I guess to put it in short terms I can say, they felt seen as the individual they are at that moment.
Some customers shared my kind of humor which occasionally led to laughter along the waiting row by listening to our short talks.
And I also should mention that I loved this job more than my high-paid main job. Is “interaction” another puzzle piece? Is a special kind of charisma my gift?
The Wonder Called Me 