Grocery Shopping Thrills

Today, driven by the desperation of a starving household, I set out in the company of Amy and Laura to do some grocery shopping. We had a list a mile long, a blank check (unfortunately already made out to Shaws), our trusty Shaws card, and a coupon that boasted 10 dollars off any purchase over 100 dollars. We entered the store with gusto and began the hunt for the perfect food.

I am a very slow shopper. I was looking for napkins, for instance, and deliberated for minutes before finding white ones that were pretty cheap. Meanwhile the girls had found baking soda, baking powder, granola, and salsa. Sigh. Good thing they were there.

But it was okay, because while I was debating the great napkin question (which reminds me of the last time I went grocery shopping - this time with Melissa - when we stood, together, looking at strawberries - the first item on our list - for about 5 minutes. What a trip that was!) a young man walked by, merrily singing "Keep your eyes upon the eastern sky!" I was desperately trying to think of whence that phrase had come when he finished it as he rounded the corner: "Lift up your heads! Redemption draweth nigh." He was a very normal looking guy, adding his own little twists to the music. It made me happy.

That's the part I like about grocery shopping: the human touches. I passed this young woman who avoided eye contact and looked kind of troubled. I wished I could have connected with her. And then, later, we found ourselves on a collision course with our huge carts, and we had to joke about it. It was a great connection!

I find that the fuller carts get, the harder they are to maneuver. I had congratulated myself on getting a cart that didn't steer sideways or anything, but once you get 100 lbs of granola, cat food, cherries, popsicles, and juice, it really doesn't matter whether the cart steers sideways or not, since it is pretty much completely resistant to motion of any kind.

We got to the checkout, and started putting our food on the belt. The entire thing, from the end to the cashier, was covered with our food. The receipt was probably three feet long. And I am happy to report that almost every single item there was a sale item. And now our larders are no longer reminiscent of nursery rhymes with old women and dogs in them!