Skill Set
Grocery shopping would be okay except for all the people. My heart sinks when the parking lot is full. And it was full yesterday. I knew my trip to pick up a few things would be the victim of the holiday shoppers picking up lots of things. It was. The aisles were crammed, the checkouts full. The stockers were going bonkers keeping up. It was wall to wall people. But I got in; I got out. I survived. It just took patience and the understanding that it is what it is.
I shopped on occasion with my late wife, but I was just there for company to push the cart. I zoned out and listened to the Muzak and every once in a while, would ask for something, like sardines. Then she died. It became my responsibility. Totally. Different deal. You have to look at prices, make choices, think about usage. Deal with men who have no idea what to do with their cart. It’s hard and more of a science than you think. I can only imagine what it was like for her while we raised three kids. My loss. I should have paid more attention and helped more often.
But that was then, this is now. And we did have some good shopping experiences later when the kids left the nest. We’d drive into Houston from Alvin on Saturday to eat lunch and shop at Central Market. Date shopping. We’d buy all sorts of interesting, weird things. It was fun. Still, I wasn’t thinking about the why of how she did things. But now days I’m getting better as time goes on. And time is definitely going on, taking me with it, as I learn another skill, I never thought I’d need.
John W. Wilson is the author of The Long Goodbye: A Caregiver's Tale