Wednesday was my last trip to the grocery store.
Let me tell you, it was just as wonderful and overwhelming as the first trip I made when we came back to the States. I definitely had brain fog from lack of sleep the night before, plus I think I was overly sentimental with it being the last time for a while. This will be a short post, but here were some observations from my last (beloved) trip to Publix:
1) Medicines (aisle 7)- I definitely spent over 30 min choosing mostly preventative medicines for while we are traveling next week. (Note to self: you never want to do international travel with sick kids. It is the worst experience ever!)
Airborne or Emergen-C?
Gummies or rapid melt tabs?
Nasal spray with
menthol or just plain saline?
Mist or drops?
Cough drops or chloraseptic
spray?
Tylenol or Motrin or both?
Generic or brand name?
2) Produce- what can I say without tearing up?
I mean, look at these peaches- in FEBRUARY, people!
Ripe to perfection.
Blueberries,
blackberries,
raspberries,
plums,
pears!
(which cost more than $5 for each pear in Kampala might I add...). And don't get me started about the greens- arugula, chard, kale, spinach, 50/50, organic, mixed ...
... (most) Americans really have no idea the abundance of their wealth. And the super green juices & kombucha tea- these would normally not be in the budget, but when they are on sale & your gut really needs some healing, you just put it in the cart and move on!
3) Butterball Turkey- not that I was looking for one, but I think I had a near heart attack when I saw these things.
Oh. My. Goodness.
First off, that is not a turkey (much less a young one as advertised)- that is a winged dinosaur! I am not even joking- I don't think I could lift that thing into my cart even I wanted to. And then I had this image that if that thing were on a shelf and rolled off it would certainly kill me or at least cause major brain damage.
Really.
These are thoughts I have while walking the aisles of the grocery store.
4) Deli- this is when the trip became a bit catastrophic & I decided I had reached my decision-making limit for the day & just needed to go home. As I approached the deli counter, I was sure to not make eye contact with anyone & to leave a good 6ft between me & the counter so no one would think I was ready to order & then stand there waiting for me to decide. FAIL. The over-eager deli worker spotted me off the bat & asked in a chipper voice, "What can I help you with, ma'am?" Then the conversation spiraled downhill...
Me: (still not making eye contact) "Um...I think I'd like some lunch meat..."
Bob: "Sure thing! What are you looking for?
Roast beef?
Ham? Turkey?
Chicken?
Cornish hen?..."
{loooong awkward pause...}
Me: "Um...maybe chicken?"
Bob:
"sure thing!
Honey-roasted?slow-roasted?
Mesquite? Black Pepper?
Low-sodium? Barbecue?
Thin-sliced? Medium-sliced? Thick-sliced?"
I think at this point he noticed my glazed-over look, followed by panic at noticing that 2 people were now in line behind me waiting for me to make a decision. I couldn't! My palms were sweating. I was paralyzed by all of the choices I had to make just to bring home some lunch meat! Thankfully Bob took it down about 2 notches & just said,
Me: "Thank you, Bob. I'll take that. Whatever it is, however it's sliced- just give me a 1/4lb."
And that was that. Bee-line to the checkout line where the only decision I had to make was debit or credit.
So, am I ready to go back to Africa?
I think so...
...but man am I going to miss that produce section (GMO's & all...)
This is Life.
{when you become a missionary}
#youbecomecrazy
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