I’ve been
shopping at the same grocery store over 15 years. I’ve made it through COVID
changes (one-way aisles), but my recent visit was different. I wanted to pick
up a few things and go back home to hurry up and relax. I was almost ready to
check out when I decided to grab a few bottles of my favorite Sparkling Ice
Water. And that’s when the scavenger hunt began.
The chilled
bottles of Sparkling Ice were usually in aisle 10, but not that day. The entire
cooler section had been relocated. I zipped down one aisle, up another. I cut
left in a defensive move to avoid colliding with another shopper. I felt like I
was on one of those old TV shopping spree shows, rushing to a destination.
My quick
shopping trip turned into an unplanned scavenger hunt. I used context clues as
my guide. I saw the pop aisle and knew I was hot on the trail of my thirst
quencher. At the end of an aisle, on a center shelf, seven rows deep and seven
rows across, sat all varieties of Sparkling Ice. My eyes lit up like bright
Christmas lights.
The sign on
the shelf read 10 for 10. It was often the special at that store to offer 10
bottles for $10. I quickly pulled ten of my favorite flavors and stacked them
into my mini shopping cart and dashed to the checkout register…to stand in a
long line. Swiftly, quickly, and immediately were not actions I was
experiencing at that moment, but I wanted to.
Instead of
letting frustration invade my body, I pulled out my cell phone and clicked on
an episode of Dry Bar Comedy. Laughter bubbled in my throat and found
its way through the passage of my lips. The process of relaxing had begun.
The scavenger
hunt ended in victory. I eagerly carried my bag of flavored water that included
Grape Raspberry, Strawberry Lemonade, and Black Raspberry, to my car. A Vision
danced in my head of sitting on my couch with a tall glass of Strawberry
Lemonade Sparkling Ice fizzing among ice cubes. And it finally happened…relaxation.
What do you
do when a situation throws you off course?
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