Navigating the sticky, jam-covered road of life.  

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Dear Mr. Grocery Store Bagger

Yes.  I am the first to admit it.  I am anal retentive.  If you see that I have painstakingly separated out my groceries according to their temperature requirements on the conveyer belt, you can assume that I expect you to bag them accordingly.  Come on.  All of my freezer things are together.  How hard is it to put all of them in the same bag?  Instead I find that I have one freezer item, one refrigerated item, and three pantry items per bag.  And what's really fun is finding cleaning products in the same bag as my milk.  Or even better.  Raw meat in the same bag as my fresh produce.  Are you kidding me?  And yes.  Every time you do it I will insist that you take the package of raw chicken out of the bag, return the grapes, and wait while I go pick out some more.  

Sincerely,
Your incredibly annoyed, and more than a little disgusted, Grocery Store Shopper

Ok.  Rant over.

***

We'd been doing so well.  The last time we had it was more than three years ago.  We'd grown complacent.  And then it hit us.  The stomach flu.  Again.  Sunshine came down with the symptoms last Thursday, Ladybug on Monday night.  It seemed to pass quickly.

And then Tuesday morning came.  By 5 am, I knew.  It was going to hit me.  I can't even begin to explain how awful it is.  But taking care of two very active children while barely able to crawl off the couch?  Damn near close to impossible.  

I am embarrassed by the amount of television my children watched yesterday.  But frankly, it was the only way I could cope.  And believe me.  I paid for it dearly today.  They fully expected to be watching the television all day today too.  

The high point of my day was Todd coming home at lunch time to feed the girls.  Because I know I could not have done it.  He even made a fort for them to play in.  Which occupied them for about 10 minutes, until I realized that they'd brought the Maglite  into the tent to help them see.  Even in my half-conscious state I knew that wasn't a good idea.  

My fever finally broke around midnight, and today I dealt with the aftermath.  Toys, crayons, books and blankets that were strewn everywhere have been cleaned up.  The stockpiles of gingerale, crackers and immodium have been replenished.  My fierce determination to never have to go through that again has been renewed.  

My one good memory about yesterday?  Sunshine sitting next to me, rubbing my head, telling me that it will be alright and that I'll feel better soon.  She's going to make such a great mom some day.

9 comments:

Cassie said...

I am so like you. I organize my groceries on the conveyer belt. You would think that they could bag them like we put them on there.

I am so glad you are all feeling better. I can't wait to see you soon!

Anonymous said...

I also organize my groceries on the belt, but at my publix they always bag them accordingly. :( Where do you go?

Jennifer

ross321 said...

Have to agree with the others. It is not anal retentive to organize your groceries that way. i have already got Heather trained to do so. But I have actually had a clerk or two compliment me on my grocery skills. Good for you for standing up for your family's health.

Dyar Baby Momma said...

Ugh - so sorry you had that stomach flu but how sweet for her to rub your head and be all motherly...

Tania @ Larger Family Life said...

Oh my I do the grocery thing too! But I like to call it "being organised" rather than anally retentive ;-)

Mandy said...

Hopping in from BHAH...

Ack! I tweeted the same gist to my grocery bagger! :)

Did he really think the plastic bag would hold 4 bottles of juice? And why did you put my greeting card in with the ice cream on a JUNE day!??!!

PrincessJenn said...

I was laughing out loud at this. I separate my groceries too and it drives me nuts when I find my frozen goods spread over three bags! lol (no not anal, why do you ask)

Bill said...

Like you, I go WAY out of my way to send them down the belt in order. And I've been known to kick the bagger out to do it myself if they're doing it wrong. Most of the time they're happy to get out of there, but once in a while there's a guy who refuses to give in. That can get a little awkward. *laugh*

And no need to be embarrassed about the TV time...we don't watch any TV, but when I'm sick the rules go out of the window.

Unknown said...

I do the same thing...The man teases me relentlessly about it when we go shopping together, but I figure I have a much better chance of getting the right stuff bagged together if I do it myself. And yes the consequences of not bagging correctly can be unsightly!