On Grocery Shopping

I'm pretty sure that as far as errands and chores go grocery shopping is my least favourite.  Although does one really enjoy chores to begin with?  They are an unpleasant, necessary, time-occupier as far as I'm concerned.  Anyway, moving on:  I can't stand grocery shopping.

 

I know that my first mistake is that I shop at Walmart. I'm pretty sure 'polite', 'smile', and 'helpful' are not words most of the employees know the meaning of.  Mind you, if I was an employee at Walmart those would probably be foreign words in my vocabulary too.  Of course this opinion isn't based on any first hand knowledge or anything, just pure impression.  For all I know it could be a fantastic place to work.  So if you work there, please don't take offense.  Now I'm rambling, sorry, must be the not-so-good sleeps that have resulted this week. 

 

Continuing.  The blue-vested-ones (a.k.a. staff) at Walmart are constantly blocking the aisles with their dolly's of stock, and if I'm traveling an aisle and it's between me and one of them it is almost always me that moves out of the way to avoid a collision.   There was a time when I was perusing some items next to an employee working on that particular shelf and she actually reached around me and bumped me out of the way to stock items.  Seriously!  I was too stunned to say anything.  

 

Then there is trying to find everything on my list.  It's not like I shop for bizarre and unheard of items, their product is arranged in deliberately inconvenient and illogical places. For example, Crispy Mini's.  I would have thought they would be by the crackers or at the very list by the chips.  Nope.  They are down the candy/chocolate aisle.  There is no doubt this arrangement is to force me to go up and down each row carefully scanning every item on every shelf in order to locate what I specifically want and perhaps see things not on my list that I decided I need and therefore spend more money!  Okay, so it does work sometimes but other times I get so frustrated that I leave without certain items and either do without or go somewhere else.  So I finally figure out where something is hidden and the next time I need it I realize it's been moved!!!!

I could go on with Walmart woes but that would get tedious.  
Why do I shop there if I dislike it so much?

It is so cheap and with the rising cost of food I feel as though I have to shop there.

Then there is the whole shopping with kids thing.  Sierra has reached the age where she asks for everything.  Can we buy this? can we buy that?....and I am constantly saying no.  Her continuous requests also distract me from my item scanning and cause me to forget or miss an item.  This results in backtracking and rescanning repeatedly in order to complete my list and before I know it I've done twenty laps and still don't have everything!  Sierra also insists on putting nearly everything into the cart which isn't really a problem in itself but adds time to an already lengthy trip.  Sawyer isn't too bad yet, he just sits in the card and watches.  Unless of course I've taken too long and it's well past his nap than he repeatedly tries to launch himself out while complaining loudly. 

So I manage to fill my cart with every item on my list - and usually items not on my list! - and pay (while gasping at the amount).  I also deftly and strategically load the bags into the van so as not to squish the delicate items like bread or bananas, strap in cranky kids and pull out of a ridiculously designed parking lot (that's another story too!) and sigh with relief that another grocery shopping trip is over.  

Oh wait.
I still have to unload everything and put it away!
Grrrr!

I get home, deal with disgruntled children by quickly feeding them, then prepare to empty the grocery bags.  By this point I'm tired and grumpy myself, and I only get more annoyed when I open my pantry and see it crammed full in a completely disorganized manner leaving minimal room for what I've just purchased.
(Note to self: clean and organize pantry.)

Everything gets a home.  The chaos is reigned in and I flop on the couch for 2.5 seconds of relaxing before the next demand is made and think that next week's trip will be there all too soon!