Give me a break!

Lately I've found myself wanting to just tell people, "Give me a break my husband has cancer". I don't normally want to say this at convenient times like when I'm having coffee with a close friend. Rather I find myself wanting to tell the pharmacist who treats me like I'm a hassle or my colleague who wants something impossible done by Tuesday or the client who gets upset when I have to move a meeting because my husband had to move his chemotherapy. 

Somewhere in the last few weeks I found this quote:

"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."

- Author unknown

It really struck a chord with me. I printed it out and stuck it up in my office and I'm trying to live it out, trying to remember that if I knew everyone else's stories then I'd probably find them saying things like, "Give me a break my son is failing school" or "Give me a break I haven't had a job for 3 months" or "Give me a break my partner and I just broke up" at totally inconvenient times. 

It made me realize that the same way I'm feeling fragile, like I need to be treated gently, other people are feeling that too for all kinds of personal reasons. I also realized that I can make their lives easier simply by being kind, kinder than necessary. 

Why do you need a to be given a break?