Grocery Grumbles

Take a moment and look really hard at this photograph. Now, try to imagine a single time that you were ever as excited as this girl to be grocery shopping. She looks like she is ready to ride the cart, something the child inside all of us desperately wants to do, yet we are worried that either a) fellow customers might stare b) we might run over a child or the more obvious answer of being too focused on the task at hand of restocking your cupboards/fridge on a budget. 

I, personally would have much rather enjoyed riding a cart around the store not having to fill it instead of transferring 40-50 pounds of groceries between the grocery store, bus and home. 

As a college student who is too much of a procrastinator to get her license, I rely nearly 100% on the buses to get me where I need to go, and make each and every trip as painless as possible; usually, I have nothing to worry about. Yet somehow I find, on days I have so much to carry home...the bus drivers screw up. 

Instead of having to carry my already heavy groceries a total of 10 minutes from the regular bus stop (due to the amount of groceries. But on a grocery-less day it would be more like 3-5 minutes), my trip increased to 15-20 minutes due to bus drivers who don't pay attention. I pulled the cord before my stop but apparently the bus driver was too oblivious, she dropped me off about a block away from where I needed to be. 

I would have been thrilled to walk a little further had I not had about 10-15 pounds of groceries in each hand, I was quite displeased. 

Being a small person, and not one to work out too often, it is quite the challenge carrying so much food as far as about a block and a half. I must have stopped about 10 times to regain sanity and not keel over from straining nearly every muscle in my body. 

In the midst of the oblivious bus driver, the long walk and the full bags of groceries, I think I felt tears trying to make their way to the surface. Yes, I know it's silly to cry over groceries and the weight, but the tears and a couple swear words started coming. Immediately I dropped my groceries in the middle of the side walk, loosened my wrists, took a deep breath and remembered one of my goals for 2013:

No matter what, stay and think positive. 

How silly of me to have almost had a meltdown, OVER CARRYING HEAVY THINGS TOO FAR! I mean if you ever watch The Biggest Loser, they do it daily. 

After the near meltdown and arriving safely at home, unharmed with minor muscle aches and pains (nothing Advil can't fix) I realized that the positive thing which came from this was that I had begun my bi-weekly exercise, another thing I can almost check off my list. 

To conclude, if you want to avoid having near meltdowns be like this girl: 

Appear overly ecstatic to be grocery shopping, ride your cart through the grocery store and probably leave with next to nothing. At least you'll avoid having to carry 40 pounds of groceries further than you need to. 

Lesson to be learned?

Unless you have a car, don't buy 40-50 pounds of groceries unless you're willing to accept possible consequences from riding the bus.