Groceries

 Herself speaks.

I went into a grocery store for the first time today in approximately 16 months. It was... weird.

I opted for the big-box store for my first grocery excursion. I knew I could go during the early "Members' Only" hours, to reduce the number of people that were in the store while I was also there. I went in right as it opened, and was out within forty-five minutes. 

I was a little concerned about the other people: would people be crabby? Would they be angry about others going the wrong way down an aisle? Would they be careless, walk too closely, BREATHE on people? It turned out that most people were relatively friendly and went about their own business, giving others plenty of space. Furthermore, about three-quarters of the people wore masks, despite the sign at the door that said, "People who are fully vaccinated are not required to wear masks in the store." I don't trust the maskless yet. Vaccinated? Or anti-mask/anti-vaccine? We cannot tell. 

Large swaths of the store had been rearranged since I had last been there, so it was a little discombobulating to try to find the best route for shopping. (I wondered what Cherished Friend would think about the new organizational scheme. It has been so long since we visited the big-box store together.) There was an abundance of things that were scarce right before the first lockdown: hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, toilet paper, bleach. Plus everything else -- there was SO MUCH STUFF.  It's so much easier when online shopping, not to look at the things that we don't need. A bit harder in person. 

There were moments that were tiny pangs in heart: the aisle with the type of cold cuts that New Old Dog used to love; rows and rows of snack foods that Tiny Dog would have liked. (Even the fact that I was there so early in the morning, during the hours when I would normally be making breakfast for the small dogs, was a little sad. It is both liberating, and lonely, to know that no small dog cares where I am anymore.)

It was, in all honesty, kind of overwhelming. But I feel better knowing I am taking a few steps to get back out into the world. 

With my mask on.