A Hot Date on Cool Saturday: Wal Mart and Me

On Saturdays, Ismael is either working, on his way to work, or sleeping so he can get up and go to work. Saturday night dates were a thing of our early, early marriage and have for now fallen casualty to the preference we have for paying our rent on time. I learned some time ago that sitting around feeling lonely was useless. I would have to make my own fun on the weekend nights. On Friday nights, I just relax and get some rest, but on Saturdays I'm anxious to do something. Now that Adam is here, I feel tethered to the apartment by 6 PM so that he can sleep in his own bed.

Around 8:30 tonight, I realized that with both boys soundly asleep, I could escape for a while.

Ismael and I like to go to the bookstore, have coffee, and read for free. So I thought I could go there and then on to Wal Mart to get the things I forgot earlier, but can't live without, namely diapers. For Adam, not me.

Barnes and Noble was uneventful. I picked up a book that promised you could keep your man if you feed him properly and do his laundry. I had to find out if the author included "emptying the silverware from dishwasher" and actually "folding the laundry" on his list. Fortunately, he was not so specific and I can rest easy that marriage is safe another day.

On to Wal-Mart. Now this is the THIRD grocery store I've been in today. Adam and I visited Wal Mart this morning to buy groceries. He got fussy and I remembered a school parent's advice to me from long ago, "when you have a baby, you have to be ready to leave every place you've ever been. At least twice." I headed for the check out mid-shop. He was asleep in his car seat before I hit the first stop light on the way home. I exteneded his car ride by doing some drive through errands and by the time I arrived at Marsh to finish the shopping he was awake. While Marsh can be reasonable on some grocery items, diapers are astronomical.

Thankfully, Wal Mart at 9:30 PM is substantially less crowded than earlier today. As I walked through the door, I turned to head to the restroom. A very necessary stop at this point in the night. Of course, it was closed.

The cleaning cart and some caution signs blocked the entrance to the women's side. I seriously contemplated banging my empty cart repeatedly into the maintenance cart in desperation or abandoning all pride and using the men's.

I heard "Mrs." plus my last name.

My last name is 9 letters long and African. People do not say it by accident.

This had to be a student of mine. Sure enough, I see him jumping up and down on the other side of the checkout. He and another student ran up carrying a video game system he had just purchased. I figure that the box in his hands was roughly equivalent to my monthly car payment. Things sure look different when you are 38 as opposed to 14.

I decided that either of my previously considered bathroom options would only feed the school rumor mill. I would shop and hope for the best instead.

To say that my memory is bad is an understatement. After I set the oven on fire, I went to the store for the sole purpose of buying oven cleaner. I bought forty dollars worth of stuff, none of which was oven cleaner. So next time you see a woman walking through the store muttering "diapers, diapers, diapers, clothes pins, diapers," say hello, because it's just me.

While waiting for check out, I engaged in some serious people watching. The toddler in the line next to me took off, pushing his parents' new broom, and had to be chased down by his father.

The Hispanic couple behind me chatted in rapid fire Spanish. I realized that some of this was directed at their young girl and mixed in the machine gun sound of a foreign language came "do you want this or not?" I think every parent, when thoroughly frustrated, wishes they could speak more than one language to further convey their feelings. The item in question was a small doll covered in red spots with various medical instruments. I mentally named the product "Molly Measles" and wondered how you say that in Spanish.

The cost for my latest store excursion was $45. Added to my earlier outings, I have spent $165 today on groceries and necessities. Aside from produce and perishables, I bought enough baby gear, canned goods, and cleaning supplies to last the next two weeks. I'll spend less next week, probably around $100, which averages to $6.30 per person, per day for the two weeks. If I look at it that way, I'm fairly impressed!

I stress about how expensive life can be, but I know I do my part. I do not buy non necessities, shop around for deals, and use coupons when I can. My biggest splurge is a case of Diet Coke and paper towels.

I have to trust God to provide for us and I had to leave this cost of living to Him a long time ago.