Ten Percent Tuesday
Today was 10% Tuesday at my preferred grocery store. I wait for this day all month to do the lion-share of my shopping. In the week leading up to it I am scraping the bottom of my pantry to come up with edible and nutritious meals to grace my dinner table. And since there is only so much you can do with saltine crackers, ketchup and a bag of frozen broccoli, my entire family looks forward to this day when the pantry is restocked and dinner goes back to being “predictable” rather than “creative.”
Except for me.
Grocery shopping has become increasingly problematic as children are added to my family. And that’s at the best of times. However, 10% Tuesday is no ordinary shopping trip. It is more like the Olympic Event of grocery shopping. And it usually goes something like this;
Once we manoeuvre everyone out of their seats and buckles and into the store, I realize that there are no more “2 kid friendly” shopping carts available. Not to worry! In my bag I happen to have my baby sling, with which I can pack around my 7 month old on my hip – hands free, while my 2 year old sits in the cart seat.
After getting everyone situated, we head straight for the bakery counter where my 2 year old indulges in the free cookie given out to all shoppers under 12. This is purely strategic, as it keeps her busy for about 7-10 minutes...leaving me to concentrate on my list. As I begin to cross items off my list my daughter announces that she needs to use the facilities...immediately. So we detour off my charted route to the public washroom, deftly coerce the cart into the small space and find a safe place for her cookie while we take care of this most pressing business.
Once all hands are washed and everyone is returned to their seat, we press on. I grab things off the shelf while pulling snacks out of my bag for my daughter (the cookie ended up on the floor 2 aisles ago), and singing and bouncing to appease my son who is now (conveniently!) ready for his morning nap and wants nothing more to do with shopping. If he was still in his car seat, then there may be a slight chance that at this point he would fall asleep, leaving me only one conscious child to contend with. HOWEVER, this is 10% Tuesday, remember? Cart space is a premium, and that bucket takes up needed real estate. So...singing and bouncing it is.
And we speed up. Sensing the kids are not going to last much longer, I try to pick up the pace, realizing that half the items on my list are still on the shelf 5 aisles back. At least I think so. It's getting hard to read my list, since my son took a huge bite out of it. By the time I get to the cashier, I am sweating and muttering unintelligibly to myself. The people in the lanes around me are whispering and pointing at “the crazy lady” who hasn’t yet seemed to notice that her 2 year old has shed most of her clothing and is waving “queen-like” to her adoring fans. I am too busy looking at all the mystery items that somehow ended up in my cart and assessing how much of my list I am actually taking home with me. The cashier doesn’t even need to ask if I need help out to my vehicle...it’s written all over my face.
Last month, after the ordeal was over and I had pulled my truck into my garage and unloaded my kids, I went back out to retrieve my groceries...only to find that the bag boy had not closed my tailgate correctly and two of my grocery bags were noticeably missing. I immediately phoned my sister to complain about my horrible shopping experience and she gave an account of her morning - eerily similar (save for the tricky tailgate). We had a good laugh.
Today was different. I came home with everything on my list. My blood pressure remained normal throughout the entire event and I never even broke a sweat. This is all thanks to a wonderful angel of mine who volunteered to hang out with my kids while I did my grocery shopping.
I definitely saved my ten percent...if not more. In fact, I’m quite certain the amount of energy, grey hairs, dignity and sanity I saved equals much more...than a paltry ten percent.
Except for me.
Grocery shopping has become increasingly problematic as children are added to my family. And that’s at the best of times. However, 10% Tuesday is no ordinary shopping trip. It is more like the Olympic Event of grocery shopping. And it usually goes something like this;
Once we manoeuvre everyone out of their seats and buckles and into the store, I realize that there are no more “2 kid friendly” shopping carts available. Not to worry! In my bag I happen to have my baby sling, with which I can pack around my 7 month old on my hip – hands free, while my 2 year old sits in the cart seat.
After getting everyone situated, we head straight for the bakery counter where my 2 year old indulges in the free cookie given out to all shoppers under 12. This is purely strategic, as it keeps her busy for about 7-10 minutes...leaving me to concentrate on my list. As I begin to cross items off my list my daughter announces that she needs to use the facilities...immediately. So we detour off my charted route to the public washroom, deftly coerce the cart into the small space and find a safe place for her cookie while we take care of this most pressing business.
Once all hands are washed and everyone is returned to their seat, we press on. I grab things off the shelf while pulling snacks out of my bag for my daughter (the cookie ended up on the floor 2 aisles ago), and singing and bouncing to appease my son who is now (conveniently!) ready for his morning nap and wants nothing more to do with shopping. If he was still in his car seat, then there may be a slight chance that at this point he would fall asleep, leaving me only one conscious child to contend with. HOWEVER, this is 10% Tuesday, remember? Cart space is a premium, and that bucket takes up needed real estate. So...singing and bouncing it is.
And we speed up. Sensing the kids are not going to last much longer, I try to pick up the pace, realizing that half the items on my list are still on the shelf 5 aisles back. At least I think so. It's getting hard to read my list, since my son took a huge bite out of it. By the time I get to the cashier, I am sweating and muttering unintelligibly to myself. The people in the lanes around me are whispering and pointing at “the crazy lady” who hasn’t yet seemed to notice that her 2 year old has shed most of her clothing and is waving “queen-like” to her adoring fans. I am too busy looking at all the mystery items that somehow ended up in my cart and assessing how much of my list I am actually taking home with me. The cashier doesn’t even need to ask if I need help out to my vehicle...it’s written all over my face.
Last month, after the ordeal was over and I had pulled my truck into my garage and unloaded my kids, I went back out to retrieve my groceries...only to find that the bag boy had not closed my tailgate correctly and two of my grocery bags were noticeably missing. I immediately phoned my sister to complain about my horrible shopping experience and she gave an account of her morning - eerily similar (save for the tricky tailgate). We had a good laugh.
Today was different. I came home with everything on my list. My blood pressure remained normal throughout the entire event and I never even broke a sweat. This is all thanks to a wonderful angel of mine who volunteered to hang out with my kids while I did my grocery shopping.
I definitely saved my ten percent...if not more. In fact, I’m quite certain the amount of energy, grey hairs, dignity and sanity I saved equals much more...than a paltry ten percent.
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