Today has been partly cloudy & the wind has been chilly.Grocery shopping is a chore to me. I hate having to do it, & can understand people who choose to use the internet, or only try to do it once a month or so.
Gom & I dont usually argue while shopping, but I am always ear-wigging on elderly couples who do. You know me, I love to watch & listen.
Feel sorry for the poor 'old girl', thin, & lined, with the portly man of the bright pink, porcine features snapping & grunting at her. Stopping her small spidery hand as she reaches for some little tin. With his porky, ham fisted
I bite down the urge to trip him up. Or loudly point out how thin his wife is, she could certainly do with a treat or two?
Feel sorry for the harrassed mother, with the one in the trolley, & the one in the oven. And the one in the trolley is grasping everything in sight, & loading it into the trolley. And wailing at full volume every time she takes the item out. Smile & wink at the one in the trolley. Hoping to distract. Occasionally rewarded with a beaming smile back. Or not. Perhaps an offended screech, & the LOOK! "Dont you dare smile at me!! WAHHH!"
And the mother absent mindedly pats the one in the oven, with a sort of "What the bloody hell was I thinking?" look. Or maybe she is doing mental deals- you know, the ones, 'Please let me get this one to behave & please dont let this next one be just as badly behaved. I will do anything,...anything.... honestly!!'
I recognise the signs of both generations. Now we are GOM & GOW, I get bossed about a bit. I get reminded what we do, & dont 'need'. I am not thin, & I sometimes fight back! And I grab it anyway! And GOM is happy to share it, once it is home.
And I remember the panicky feeling of "What the hell have I done?" When awaiting the birth of the next one.
There is 21 months between our son & our youngest, our daughter. Our son was such a cute, happy, lovely sunny little chap. Everyone loved him, & he loved everyone. "O goody" we thought, this is lovely, we are good at this! "Let's have another!"
And then, just before our daughter was due to be born, our son seemed to turn into some sort of minor 'devil'. He discovered he could have a tantrum. He discovered he could be demanding. And it was almost as if he suddenly realised he wasn't going to be the one & only Golden Child.
And by the time his little sister was born, he was well practised in the art of flying rages, & full blown tantrums. It seemed he learnt the art of the Terrible Twos a little early. Just to keep us on our toes.
At least he didn't kick people in the shins, like my little nephew. "Oh hello Dear" little old ladies would say to him, & bend down smiling. Only to be rewarded with a swift kick, or a scowl that would curdle milk. And they would rear back in fear & pain, & hobble away. He has grown into the most polite, lovely, man.
And the visit to the Fruit & Vegetable shop. Local produce. Smaller, perhaps, slightly spotted, or misshapen, but so much cheaper. And fresher. Lovely, cheery service.
Why do we get so accustomed to expecting fruit & veg to be perfect? It is sad. When home grown vegies were the norm, perfect didnt score much. Unless it was the local A & P Show. And surely there should be enough to share with a few insects & creatures? It is, after all, how the world was designed. To provide for everyone, & everything. And not everyone, or should that be 'anyone' can be perfect.
Think about the people you love most. Dont you find you forgive them their imperfections, the same as you hope they forgive yours. And, dont you often find the imperfections or supposed flaws, very endearing, appealing & attractive?
How did I get to this point in this post?? I think it must have written itself!
If anyone is reading, so sorry if I bored with self indulgent thought.
I am off on the cloud line, singing in the sunset. Humming to the rest after a busy day, out & about.
Chris Isaak, Pretty Girls Dont Cry.
23 comments:
You write very well. It was a breeze reading your post and enjoyable, and insightful.
I come to be thankful to you for the work that you have developed in yours blogue and to desire good vacations to you.
We had two boys eleven months apart, waited a couple of years and then had two girs eleven months apart. It would have been easier to just have twins and be done with it. Lol. It was hard for a few years but they are all very good friends now.
What a great sky!
you know, i did the grocery shopping yesteday and was saddened by all the lonely looking sad older men there were, doing their shopping alone.
( no little hands to smack down)
I tried giving out winning smiles, but I think I may have startled them with what probably looked like a baboon-grimace.
Oh well.
At least none of them appeared to be filling their trolleys with catfood.
Oh, my. You've made me feel better with these stories. My little "angel" won't ride in the shopping cart, so when he starts misbehaving I heave him up on my shoulders and I suppose we look like sort of a walking totem pole. We get odd looks.
Imperfections ... they can be endearing or merely annoying, depending on what they are.
I would have had to trip up grumpy old guy. You just know he has ALWAYS been vicious to his poor little wife.
Just when we think we have our kids figured out.... they learn new tricks. I swear MY kids are draining my brain cells my the minute! But I know someday, I will look back on their childhood years with nothing but (mostly) rose-colored glasses.
Yep, I'd have tripped him up too!
Wonderful sky and sunset. And, sometimes, alas, pretty girls 'do' cry.
Ian
Please keep writing I love to read your blog.
I hate grocery shopping and I am very lucky hubby does it.
Lovely sunset!
You sound full of the joys Meggie ...
And its contagious!
Oh the perfect vegie. Don't get me started! We give awards for perfect vegies over here you know. What a crock!
You are never boring to me. You know how to say all the things I think. I notice how men treat their wives too. First time I hear them say something to run her down I put a little black mark in my brain and I don't forget.
My two boys were 15 months apart. I had one in '60, one in '61, skipped '62 and my daughter was born in '63. They were all little together and all teenagers together... all got married about the same time... Looking back it seems that is the way to go...LOL
Love your beautiful sky!!
I wish you would have tripped that man!!! I went through the temper thing with Zach. First sign of a fit and I took him home!
You are sweet for saying my blog deserves a Nice Matters Award. Hugs...
Mari-Nanci
Self indulgent thought?
Lovely not boring.
I think it is a trick of nature that our babies are at their cutest when we decide to have another, by the time the next comes along they are up to all sorts of mischief!
My children are 18 months apart, and I often thought 'What was I thinking'..but we all survivied and are close now. I rarely took them grocery shopping when they were little, I left them with their Dad. I know, I'm a coward, but I tried it a few times, and couldn't cope. I was very young, and felt it was better for all concerned if I went alone. Better than a show down at the check out I think..!
Hi All, the checkout at the Supermarket is a trap & a danger to mothers with small kids. I feel if the kids 'lift' sweets, as I have seen some do, it is the supermarket's fault. The poor harried mother cant have eyes in the back of her head.
When my kids were small I used to have to take them with me, & catch a bus as well! I dont know how I managed.
I feel sorry for my grandchildren. One is 18, so grew up as an only child, now her brother is almost 5 & he too, is growing up as an only child. Life doesnt always turn out the way we would have liked.
When and I say when as it was long before Chalky I used to own a Persian cat.......loved him but I did feed him a lot of cat food as he was a fussy eater.
I only went shopping when I ran out of cat food and found it it a good way to shop.
I now have Chalky who would have one tin of dog a month and it's just not the same.
Supermarkets to me come under the same heading as banks!!
This was a beautiful post Meggie, really enjoyed it.
Btw I love Chris Isaak. I saw him in concert last year and he was great.
whenever i read your posts, i feel like i'm sitting down, having a chat with you!!
i'm glad your son has turned out ok, because i was thinking of trading him in for one who didn't play up so much!! thanks for giving me hope...but i'll be coming back to you when he's 21 if he hasn't improved!
my son is a nightmare when we shop, which is every second day. i try to avoid doing large shops because i can't stand listening him asking me for everything. drives me nuts!
i feel so sorry for people whose other halves shout at them in the shops, especially if they're older. for goodness sakes, back off!!
i once saw an older man shout at his wife, "i told you to ALWAYS stand two steps behind me". in public. seriously. what a pig. any wonder i never got married!! :)
Meggi Dear, you're NEVER boring. You always make me laugh and think. I admire you for shopping with GOM. There's no way I can shop with my GOM. I'm lucky though -- he does the grocery shopping. Since I do the yardwork, I figure it's a fair trade. And, bonus for me -- he takes all day at it, so I have my day to myself! ;-)
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