Groceries

July 29, 2020

Covid-19 numbers seem to be spiking in most areas of the country, and that is also true where we live.  Melissa works in Northwest Arkansas, one of the hotbeds of our state.  Sometimes it worries her to drive up every day.  She rarely goes out and then only to specific drive through windows where she feels comfortable.  We live in a town of less than 10,000 and have not had many cases.  As the numbers rise, positive tests have risen in our town as well.  As they increased Melissa became more wary about letting me out of the house.  She “suggested” I needed to order online groceries rather than going into the store.  Last night she took the initiative of ordering for me.

I was surprised several weeks ago when our grocery transformed half of one of their five rows into reserved online pickup spots.  We used these spots early on, but as things appeared to lessen (or maybe I got used to it), it became easier to mask up and get what I needed.  I wondered why they would put so many reserved spots in the front of the store when nobody used them.   When I arrived, there were five or six cars parked waiting for pickup.  They do try to space the deliveries out, so I figured we must have all come at once.

When I got home from my “touchless” delivery, I realized they had not put the lemons in our bag.  I sent a text to Melissa to make sure she had ordered them, then called the store.  They were nice about it and said they would have them ready when I arrived.  I went back to the reserved spots and this time about half of them were already taken.  The lady next to me put on her mask, got out of her car, and proceeded to enter the store.  It irritated me that she used these spaces because they were closer to the entrance.  I was happy to notice she had out of state plates.  At least it was not one of us.

THOUGHTS:  The day I heard about my grandfather’s death I was in a daze.  I had to go to the grocery and aimlessly wandered around.  After selecting my items, I stood in line.  That is when an icy voice come from behind, “This is ten items or less!  You are in the wrong line.”  I looked up and realized she was right.  I apologized and told her my grandfather just died and I was not tracking.  When I encounter events like the woman parking in a reserved space, I remember this time in my life.  What we believe we see may not be the whole story.  Perhaps we should have more compassion.  Change is coming and it starts with you.