There’s a lady couponing at the local grocery store so that the money goes further this month. She has carefully calculated the correct portion of meat she needs for the upcoming week. She needs enough beef for the stew and then for a night of pan-seared burgers.
She needs a pork roast for Sunday dinner. Pork is cheaper these days. She is getting a pack of assorted chicken parts — thighs and wings. They do well in the crockpot with her barbecue sauce.
She gathers fruits and vegetables, oils, and spices. She picks out bags of chips, rice, and navy beans. She looks at the dates on milk and yogurt. She chooses sharp cheddar and American sliced cheeses.
She’s deliberate about her shopping. To onlookers, it might appear she is wandering aisles, but this is not a wandering woman. It’s almost as if she’s on a strategic military operation.
She is conscientious about the budget; she must buy precisely enough food and make it go far enough. Those children must not go hungry. And in this economy, that meant stretching things out and substituting when possible.
She might go to the home goods section or the garden center. She’ll probably look longingly at those little things that might make her house more of a home, but she can’t get it yet.
She will save a few more dollars here and there over the next two or three months to get those special-to-her-heart items.
She goes to the cash register and unloads her shopping cart as she watches that digital screen like a red-tailed hawk watches a mouse. It had better ring up the prices as they were displayed on the shelves.
“I’ve got a coupon for those!” She states with authority. “And these, and these. Those, too.”
The cashier nods. She knows the routine.
She loads the car, then unloads it when she’s home. Puts everything in its proper place. Her limited cabinet space is masterfully stocked. It’s a work of art.
She stores the plastic grocery bags in a drawer to later use as bathroom trash bags or whatever else she might think of using them for.
And that’s just an hour and a half of her day.
Oh, I forgot to mention that she had three children in tow.
to the hardest workers that I know,
– Caleb
caneymountainblog.com 