Supermarket Stuff

         If I ever win the lottery one of the first things I will do is start ordering all my groceries online and have them delivered to my house.  I do not like going to the supermarket but it is a necessary task that falls under my jurisdiction.

         In order to make supermarket runs more  palatable I sometimes look to see what others have in their carts and make up a little story (in my head) about them. Dinner party, child’s birthday, quiet dinner for two, and girls’ night in are just a few of the scenarios I’ve created. Small orders are my favorite for guessing as I think you can tell a lot from the collection of items in the cart.

         Sometimes I see something that sends my mind wandering down memory lane.  Just today as I passed the bin of colorful bouncing balls of various sizes I was transported 20 years back in time.  My girls were young, and there was no easier way to bring smiles than to pick out a new ball then go home and play in the yard after putting the perishables away.  I remember they used to have fruit scented balls and we had a purple grape scented one and an orange colored orange scented one, each with a goofy smiling face on it.  I wonder if they still make them.  Those were nice times.

         Frequently I have short conversations with strangers when I am at the market.  One Sunday morning as I stood in the tomato sauce aisle considering my options a man stood next to me and asked what I put in meatloaf. I told him how I make it, and he asked some questions including if I thought three pounds of meat would make enough meatloaf for four people with some leftover.  At the end of the conversation I wished him a happy successful dinner party, made my selection and continued on.  Near Valentine’s Day as I stood in line at Shop Rite having stopped on the way home from work, I learned from my fellow shoppers that one was making chocolate covered strawberries for her family, another was buying a huge Whitman’s Sampler for a soup kitchen, and a third was making goodie bags for her children’s school parties.  I didn’t ask, for some reason people just start conversations with me.  I don’t mind, it passes the time pleasantly.

         Even though I don’t like going to the supermarket, it is a place that must be part of my life so I have found a way to make it pleasant; and when I win the lottery I’ll find someplace else to go where strangers who feel so inclined can tell me stories.