Friday Fragments: the Grocery Store

• To the shoppers who decide they don't want a perishable product and dispose of it by dumping it in some hiding spot, like the cat litter aisle,
• To shoppers who park their carts right in front of the dairy case while they have an extended phone conversation,
• To the woman ahead of me in the self-check who thinks I am rushing her, to the man who has parked his car right in the fire lane, to the shoppers who leave their dirty tissues in their carts:

TSK. TSK!!

• 
  
  To the greeters who continue to admonish me to wear a winter coat:

Allow me to introduce you to a crazy new concept called mid-life HORMONES.

• 
  
  To the man who bought the box of tampons and the case of beer:

Yes, the cashier should have put those tampons in a bag instead of assuming you would prefer to carry them out of the store carefully hidden under your arm.

The Taryn

It was about three lifetimes ago that I last enjoyed shoe shopping.  I was childless.  I worked full-time.  I was flush with cash.

So there was no better hobby than to find the most exquisite store and deliver myself to the shoe department.  I could spend hours there slowly examining one shoe after another thinking, "This would be lovely for that date, but this shoe would work well for that other date."

I always bought both pairs, and sometimes more.  When I got home, I would put the shoes out on my dresser so they would be the last thing I saw at night and the first thing I saw the next morning.

Then my life changed, and I got the desires of my heart.  I also got poorer. 

Now I shop for shoes while pushing a shopping cart and fretting because I know I have too many frozen groceries in the cart and there won't be enough time to get home and put them away before I need to be at the kids' schools.

In that frame of mind, I found myself once again contemplating a couple pairs of shoes at our Walmart equivalent last week.  I tried them on a rediculous number of times.  I walked in them.  I gazed in their reflection in the mirror.  I took pictures of them with my cell phone.

I just couldn't decide.  Then something amazing happened.  I noticed that one pair was named Taryn. 

We used to know a Taryn.  She was a wonderfully talented vocalist, but what made her so very special was her demeanor.  She was absolutely lovely.

You already know what I did, don't you?  Yes, I bought the Taryn shoes.

I would tell you how I make my other financial decisions, but I'm afraid your heart couldn't withstand the shock.