Domestic Life
With this new year comes my first real chance to experience stay-at-home life. I have had a good stretch where my energy is up and I’ve tried to accomplish at least something every day. Yesterday, I sold something on the Next Door app. Have you heard of it? I am new to the party, but it turns out it’s a great place to find out about issues in your neighborhood and also sell stuff via their Classifieds section, all while getting to know your neighbors – sometimes in person and sometimes just virtually.
Today, I tackled grocery shopping. It seems like the ultimate stay-at-home thing to do, provide food for your family, and I also wanted to get the ingredients to make spaghetti and meatballs for dinner tonight (Kevin’s request).
Much to my surprise, the parking lot was full at 2:00 this afternoon. What?? Are they calling for snow or something? (If you’re not from the south, you might not know that at the very mention of any type of wintry precipitation people flock to the grocery store to stock up on things like bread and milk.) Not to be deterred, I circled the parking lot looking for a space. I grabbed my reusable grocery bags (because I actually remembered to bring them this time!) and strutted my domestic self, armed with list and coupons, into the store.
I read once that having too many choices actually makes people less satisfied and I believe this is true. At the very least, having to make so many choices is exhausting. And then you add on top of all that trying to save money by comparing prices and using coupons, wrestling with your conscience over whether or not to buy organic or grass-fed or cage-free or vegan or gluten-free, trying to find specific ingredients you’ve never bought before (where do they keep dried fruit? I never did find it), and wheeling around a cart that gets heavier and heavier with each aisle. And then you check out, walking out of the store wondering if, after all that, it even rang up correctly. A good time was not had by all.
But there was a beautiful bright spot in this endeavor. As I was getting ready to check out – arranging the bags in the cart to make things easier for the bagger, putting away the coupons I decided not to use and getting out the ones I was, pulling up my Kroger card on my phone – a young teenage boy who was part of the family checking out ahead of me asked if he could help me unload my groceries onto the conveyer belt. He didn’t know I was feeling like a domestic failure at that moment and that my back was hurting from maneuvering a heavy cart all over the store. He didn’t withhold his offer to help because I don’t look sick and was probably one of the younger people in the store that day. He just offered to help me. I’m glad that God will return the favor to this young man, since I doubt I’ll get that chance.
Random acts of kindness – they can change someone’s day.
P.S. Prayer request – I have had increased back pain just to the left of my fractured vertebrae in my back. I go tomorrow for an MRI to see what’s up. Will you pray for me? With all the tests I routinely have, MRIs have not been one of them. I (thankfully) haven’t had one since my initial diagnosis in 2011. Having my whole body put into that claustrophobic tube isn’t my idea of a good time. Will you pray for peace and for my thoughts to stay away from anxiety? Oh yeah, and for them to find out what’s causing my pain. Thanks, friends.
Today, I tackled grocery shopping. It seems like the ultimate stay-at-home thing to do, provide food for your family, and I also wanted to get the ingredients to make spaghetti and meatballs for dinner tonight (Kevin’s request).
Much to my surprise, the parking lot was full at 2:00 this afternoon. What?? Are they calling for snow or something? (If you’re not from the south, you might not know that at the very mention of any type of wintry precipitation people flock to the grocery store to stock up on things like bread and milk.) Not to be deterred, I circled the parking lot looking for a space. I grabbed my reusable grocery bags (because I actually remembered to bring them this time!) and strutted my domestic self, armed with list and coupons, into the store.
I read once that having too many choices actually makes people less satisfied and I believe this is true. At the very least, having to make so many choices is exhausting. And then you add on top of all that trying to save money by comparing prices and using coupons, wrestling with your conscience over whether or not to buy organic or grass-fed or cage-free or vegan or gluten-free, trying to find specific ingredients you’ve never bought before (where do they keep dried fruit? I never did find it), and wheeling around a cart that gets heavier and heavier with each aisle. And then you check out, walking out of the store wondering if, after all that, it even rang up correctly. A good time was not had by all.
But there was a beautiful bright spot in this endeavor. As I was getting ready to check out – arranging the bags in the cart to make things easier for the bagger, putting away the coupons I decided not to use and getting out the ones I was, pulling up my Kroger card on my phone – a young teenage boy who was part of the family checking out ahead of me asked if he could help me unload my groceries onto the conveyer belt. He didn’t know I was feeling like a domestic failure at that moment and that my back was hurting from maneuvering a heavy cart all over the store. He didn’t withhold his offer to help because I don’t look sick and was probably one of the younger people in the store that day. He just offered to help me. I’m glad that God will return the favor to this young man, since I doubt I’ll get that chance.
Random acts of kindness – they can change someone’s day.
P.S. Prayer request – I have had increased back pain just to the left of my fractured vertebrae in my back. I go tomorrow for an MRI to see what’s up. Will you pray for me? With all the tests I routinely have, MRIs have not been one of them. I (thankfully) haven’t had one since my initial diagnosis in 2011. Having my whole body put into that claustrophobic tube isn’t my idea of a good time. Will you pray for peace and for my thoughts to stay away from anxiety? Oh yeah, and for them to find out what’s causing my pain. Thanks, friends.
I still pray for you each night. Not a long prayer but God hears and knows my heart for you I am sure.
ReplyDeleteKatherine, it is probably good that God did not put us both in C'ville at the same time. The ocean of free time I've found in retirement would connect with your time of freedom, and I fear the results. At the very least, we'd have to go to Great Harvest bakery weekly! Praying for you, comet!
ReplyDeleteThe Kroger app. You can clip your coupons digitally, make a list and compare prices before you even walk in the door. It gets easier with every trip if you consistently got the same store. Every time I think I'll just run in a different store, it takes much longer. And what a great act of kindness.
ReplyDeletePraying for you!
Good call. You really need to have your back checked. MRI is the best solution. It may not be a comfortable experience but the results can tell a lot of things about your condition. That will help your doctor point to the real problem and recommend the best remedy. I'll be praying for your complete recovery.
ReplyDelete