Grocery shopping

Grocery shopping shook me up. Things are good there, everyone being extremely kind and responsible: it’s just the reality of it. A friendly staff member at the door doling out sanitizer. Another one busily disinfecting the carts. I was there at 8am on a Saturday, and it was not crowded; people kept a polite distance from each other as best they could, though some of the aisles are narrow, and many of the aisles were cluttered with boxes that staff were in the process of unpacking. They are working so hard… I am trying to think in terms of what is present on the shelves and celebrate what I find: Chicken! Cream! Garlic! But the absences are still notable: today it was whole wheat flour and dark chocolate. Well, next time. The staff member in the produce aisle asked me, “Are you finding everything you need?” and I answered “Yes, thank you” without thinking, and then tears welled up. May we all find everything we need.

There was a long well-spaced line for the cash register. If you brought your own bags, you had to bag your own groceries so the cashiers wouldn't have to touch your bags. When I left, there was a well-spaced line to enter the store (to reduce crowding).