All you must know firsthand is I am lucky enough -- or unlucky enough -- to work with my family at my grandfather’s pharmacy. He and my mother are both pharmacists and my sister and cousins take shifts assisting them in customer service and pill counting. I have a part-time job as a glorified secretary to be exact.
My cousin Gus -- who is starting his freshman year at Edinboro University in Erie, PA. Friday -- is still 7 years old in my head. We were joking about society’s obsession with social media as my grandpa asked about his trip to the beach.
“Did you really go on vacation, Gus?” I asked. “I didn’t see any pictures!”
“Sorry I didn’t post about it. I was too busy actually enjoying myself.” He shot right back.
Maybe girls have a different attitude about saving memories via pictures, but I was surprised at how mature he sounded. I felt old, even with only two years on him. I can remember my older cousins telling me they felt old when I graduated high school. I knew what they meant now. Later we had a customer that was upset because her daughter needed a certain brand of Adderall.
(I could get into the slapstick and grab ass that is America’s pharmaceutical industry, but I won’t. If you’re interested in that, I recommend catching up on the Cynical Pharmacist Facebook page.)
Anyway, I listened to our grandpa tell her we only carried one brand and noticed her husband impatiently balancing a cart in the aisle behind her. She looked back and he told her something along on the lines of screw this, they don’t have what we need here.
I’m pretty sure he was growling. This poor guy was already watching his wife have issues at the pharmacy, but his day was getting worse as he realized the shelves of the grocery store we operate out of were not stocked.
I found Gus taking sips of water and told him about the lady’s husband.
“I heard that guy being mad but I didn’t realize it was about the store,” said Gus. “Sounds like he needs Adderall.”
Once they left, he gave me his opinion on medicating hyperactive children. Although it sounded like something he read in a waiting room magazine and not something he could cite, I had to give him some credit.
“I feel like it’s curbing kids’ creativity,” Gus started. “If you’re trying to control them, they end up being like robots. Even if my kids are crazy, I’m never going to try to fix it with drugs.”
I pointed out that you never know the whole situation but it does seem like it’s the parents who need help parenting rather than the kids needing downers.
As pharmacy technicians, we are supposed to help pharmacists make sure all the drugs a person is taking are safe. It can feel more like a gas station retail job sometimes, but seeing my cousins grow up and staying close to my family is worth it despite the grumpy husbands and demanding mothers.
