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Throughout my working life, I have had the pleasure and privilege of working with some remarkable people who have taught me invaluable lessons. Some lessons came through formal instruction, while others came through experience.

One particular lesson came from Jeannie when I worked at the Two Hills IGA.

Jeannie was one of the managers and my direct supervisor. She commanded respect, was extremely organized, and yet was also a tremendous amount of fun to work with. She knew how to run a store, but she also knew how to work with people.

As tends to happen when you spend a lot of time working alongside people, I became good friends with many of my co-workers. Every now and then, we'd get together outside of work and have a few drinks.

One Friday evening, Jamie, another guy who worked at the store and a good friend of mine, and I decided to grab a few beers and hang out after work. We weren't planning on getting crazy. We were simply going to have a few drinks, relax and enjoy the evening.

When Jeannie saw the case of beer we'd picked up from the liquor store, she laughed.

“Do I need to remind you boys that you're working tomorrow? And Jared, you're working on cash.”

“You know us,” we both replied. “We'll behave and promise to be in top form tomorrow.”

She shook her head, laughed and walked away with the unmistakable look of someone who already knew exactly how this story was going to end.

Then she stopped and turned back to me.

“No matter what condition you come in tomorrow, you're working on cash, and I will not relieve you.”

I looked her straight in the eye and, with complete confidence, said, “I promise I'll be here and I'll work at my best.”

And with that, we closed the store and headed out for the evening.

A few beers turned into a good time. There were plenty of laughs, plenty of conversation and, before we knew it, the case was empty.

But we weren't done.

It was still relatively early, after all.

So naturally, we moved on to the harder stuff.

... And that's about where my memory ends.

The next thing I remember is waking up feeling like it was my first day as a human being.

Jamie wasn't feeling particularly fantastic either, although he seemed to be in considerably better shape than I was. Eventually, we remembered our promise to Jeannie and somehow managed to drag ourselves out to the car and make it to the store on time.

We stumbled through the doors, barely able to keep ourselves upright.

And there was Jeannie.

She immediately started laughing.

“I knew it!” she said, laughing hysterically. “You know you're still working on the till, right?”

“I know,” I replied, hanging my head and accepting my fate.

The morning seemed to last forever.

Every sound inside the store thundered through my head like a gong. The sunlight I normally cherished felt like someone was shining a supernova directly into my eyes.

Fortunately, Jeannie was exceedingly gracious and let me take an early lunch.

I practically sprinted over to Mama's Pizza, ordered a bacon cheeseburger with fries and gravy, and proceeded to inhale it.

By the time I was finished, I was beginning to feel a little more like myself.

I managed to work the rest of the day, although “managed” might be a generous description. Jeannie kept a watchful eye on me to make sure I was okay—and perhaps also because watching me suffer was at least mildly entertaining.

At the time, I mostly thought about surviving the day.

Looking back, however, I realize Jeannie had taught me something that has stayed with me ever since.

Actions have consequences.

I am certainly not going to claim that I never made the same mistake again. I was young, after all. But it happened considerably less frequently.

The lesson wasn't really about drinking. It was about thinking ahead.

Before you do something, take a moment to consider what the result might be. You may enjoy the decision in the moment, but eventually, you have to deal with whatever comes afterward.

Sometimes the consequences are serious.

Sometimes they're painful.

And sometimes, if you're lucky, they involve spending the morning working on a cash register while your manager laughs at you because she knew exactly what was coming.

Jeannie taught me that you don't always need a lecture to learn an important lesson.

Sometimes, you just need someone to let you live with the consequences of your own choices.

And sometimes, that's the lesson you remember for the rest of your life.

Actions have consequences.