It's March! That means that I am participating in the Slice of Life Story Challenge. I am happy to co-host this event with the team at Two Writing Teachers. Everyone is welcome!
I stand next to the display of oranges and apples debating whether to move in and select my apples or wait until the older woman in front of me finished selecting her oranges. My impatience grows as I watch her lift, inspect, and squeeze several oranges. The rate of return is high. Therefore, the number of touches on those oranges is growing. I debate saying something, but I don't. Instead, I move in and take my apples, intentionally reaching for ones that, in my head, I think maybe only the store employees have touched before me-- the ones that are almost out of reach, below others.
In the seltzer aisle, I wait as another customer debates her flavor choices. I also would like seltzer, and I know my flavor choices, but, unlike I might have a year and two weeks ago, I don't excuse myself and reach below her for the box of pomegranate Polar Springs. I wait, and so does the man behind me. Sometimes grocery shopping takes a little longer, but I have accepted that. It's part of the routine.
As I walk to my car, my thoughts return first to a post Clare Landrigan wrote a while ago-- maybe two, even three years ago. She wrote about returning the grocery carts. There was a time when grocery store etiquette was a short list, with a major task being not to leave your cart in the parking lot. There's more to it now.
And my thoughts also return to the woman selecting oranges. Maybe there is more to her, as well. Maybe she can only afford a certain number of oranges or maybe they're a splurge. Maybe just going to the grocery store is an act of bravery for her, and she goes because she's been on the receiving end of poorly selected produce too many times when she tried to use the delivery method for obtaining groceries. My system of selection is another privilege I realize I have. If one of the apples I've selected has an inedible spot, I'll cut it out. I'll roll my eyes, but I'll still have plenty to eat. I'll even cut into another apple if need be.
But I'll make sure to wash them even more than I usually do.
Happy Slicing,
You are so wise to recognize our privilege in something as simple as grocery shopping. It is true. We have the time and the funds to protect ourselves and get what we want. Thank you for this lens to consider as we enter the world. Less annoyance. More understanding and patience goes a long way.
ReplyDeleteThis line also jumped out at me- "My system of selection is another privilege I realize I have." I was lulled into the rhythm and routine of your piece (and grocery shopping), and fell off the cart when you mentioned this privilege, which is exactly what we need to do to disrupt and grow. A powerful piece about so much more than grocery store etiquette.
ReplyDeleteIt's so easy to get annoyed and not understand why other people act as they do. Your story is very kind and full of self-awareness.
ReplyDeleteI often do this as well. I think about what the lives are like of the strangers I come across in my day to day life. I make up a back story or two so to speak. It helps to foster a bit more empathy in me.
ReplyDeleteI remember that post ... I will have to find it. I have not been in the store since my husband was vaccinated. Over two months now ... I hadn't thought about how Covid will change things in the future. How long will it be before forget all we lived through? What will remain? I have never had Pomegranate ...
ReplyDeleteClare's comment reminds me of my writing 'what will remain?' refrain of day 2 Slicing this year - and she's exactly right. What of our behaviors will linger and continue to guide the way we live? Your Slicing always reminds me about the power in the teeniest of moments. My writing need not envelope a whole day, TY. XOX
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to imagine a world where I didn't obsessively wash produce... I don't think I'll ever go back!
ReplyDeleteAs you point out we need to be aware that the circumstances of other customers are not the same as ours. I do feel it is sad that people have germs and contagion on their minds almost constantly these days.
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