Pushing your Buttons

I get stressed a lot at work, but it increases 10 fold in the summer. Mostly because the patrons increase 10 fold in the summer, and those patrons love to push my buttons.

We've all reached that point when we are trying our hardest to please every one, keep order and create library fun and magic when some snide remark or complaint snapped at us totally throws us off our game. Stops us in our tracks. Makes us so mad we are contemplating giving that patron a swift kick up the arse!

I'm no stranger to being in these situations after working in retail, food service and entertainment before I came to work at a library. But today I had to remove myself from the public's eye before I lost my cool. I apologized to the patron for my "slight" all the while seeing a red target forming on their backside. I usually go back into a private office or even the bathroom! (unfortunately I share mine with 4 other people and it's behind glass door) I take several steadying breathes and do some yoga poses.

Here's the twist. I'm terrible at yoga. I only know a few poses from my Wii fit. I concentrate so hard on trying to stand straight and not fall over. I usually can't and then I laugh at my attempts and it helps distract me from what I was so made at in the first place!