Most women I know loathe grocery shopping. It's not just physically being at the grocery store. It's the lists, coupons, menu planning and stopping at the bank to take out a small loan. Then there's the loading of the food, the unloading, having to get two carts (which I'm not embarrassed about anymore), getting it home, putting it away and then .... cooking.
A few years ago I was at the store, struggling to pack the groceries with my three young children running in circles around me and I saw Jeff from church. He was all by himself and happy as could be. He couldn't understand why I didn't love grocery shopping. He said he loves it because he loves food. Then he picked up his one bag and was off.
For a while, Mike went to the grocery store a lot more than me. I was home breast feeding, diapering, bathing and cleaning up after our kids. He didn't mind at all. I would send him with a nice long list. One night, he came home with a map of the grocery store. For real! They have those. He thought it might be handy if I made my list in the order of the store. Then he would find a way to put as much as geometrically possible in each bag and bring it home and leave it on the counter. Then he would look at me like, "well, aren't you going to cook something?" and take his chips and salsa downstairs feeling like he had just done me a huge favor.
It was kind of like the moment I opened my Mother's Day present - an ice cream maker. They all looked at me like, "well, make some ice cream already!"
So, today I took my young man to the store with me after watching him eat half his weight in fast food. He was giddy with excitement about all the food. His first plan was to read the list to me. Then he told me my writing was too messy and decided to start driving the cart. Halfway through the store he told me we weren't getting things in a smart order. We should get the heavy stuff first. I told him those comments are why I left dad at home.
Then as we were bagging he was carefully lining up all the items that should go together and putting them in bags like legos. And true to form, when we got home he absolutely disappeared! I spent the next hour putting things away and getting ready to make dinner. He did miraculously reappear when dinner was on the table.
Dare I say that I might like grocery shopping if I could do the same?
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I love it!! We set up our grocery list according to the order of the store too--Greg's idea, but I execute it. I only go on the big run once a month, so I've been known to leave SuperTarget with 3 carts...and that's just on one of the trips I take that day (and my family's half your size!). It's massive and exhausting, but I do enjoy it a bit. I love food too, so I guess that's why. Also because Greg watches the kids and I get to do it all by myself!! For hours!! And I often buy myself something at the Starbucks in the store!
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