Juggling Groceries In the Wind Before the Storm
It is hard to live next door to a flagpole on windy nights. The wind picks up, and the flag and its pole will not keep still. I cannot stay asleep at night. And my bedroom is one of the closest to our complex’s flagpole (I have an upstairs neighbor).
Last night, I stretched out on the sofa to watch FBI at 8:00 pm EST and was sound asleep within fifteen minutes. A winter storm watch was in effect, and wind gusts of up to 25 mph were wiping the flag and its pole around something fierce and had been since yesterday morning.
Between the wind gusts, the flag, flagpole, and my cat poking my face in a desperate attempt to convince me he needed more Temptations Blissful Catnip Flavor Treats, I was wide awake again at midnight. And, I knew going back to sleep tonight would prove to be next to impossible, so I got up and gave him his treats.
He was so happy to have those treats and the Friskies Meaty Bits he had been refusing to eat for two years but had eaten for the first five years of his life. He discovered IAMS Proactive Health Healthy Adult With Chicken when we moved down to mom’s in 2020, and that is all he has wanted since.
Yes, I could have purchased Iams Perfect Portions Healthy Adult Grain-Free Wet Cat Food Cuts in Gravy, Chicken Recipe instead of the dry formula. But my brain is like spaghetti, And it’s hard to remember, let alone think sometimes. But I digress. Henry is a happy and healthy cat. And if you do not believe me, feel free to ask his Cornell-trained vet. Yes, my cat is spoiled. But when we moved here, although I knew we would be thirty-two miles from Ithaca, I never thought Henry would have an Ivy League-trained vet.
I do not have an Ivy League-trained doctor. But my orthopedist was in the Navy. And, I am confident both knee replacement surgeries he will be performing on me between now and 8 March 2022 will be successful. But (again) I digress.
I tried my best to ignore the wind, my cat, and the flagpole and get back to sleep. But Henry won in the end, and I got up, gave him some treats, watched a little TV, washed the dishes soaking in the sink, and started this post. When I got to the end of the fourth paragraph, it was 5:00 am, and Henry was poking me again. This time, he wanted me to go to bed. I did, slept another three hours, and have been on the go since.
I took care of household-related business in the morning before listening to some of my Medium followers’ posts. Then, the hospital and my primary care physician’s office kept me busy on the phone while I waited for my friend to come to pick me up for a ride out to the store.
I spent $187.37 on groceries, and the clerk asked if I wanted a bag. I said, “No. I will take your best juggler home with me instead.” And she looked at me like I was nuts. But how else was I supposed to get those groceries home when I had left my bags home in my closet? And, I was not about to toss them loosely into my friend’s trunk. I had purchased eggs and did not want motor grease all over my grapes and celery.
I was all for New York’s decision to ban all plastic bags. But this expectation for all customers who do not bring their reusable bags to carry their groceries home loosely is absurd. Of course, a person purchasing one or two items who does not have a personal bag with them will want a bag to carry those items home. That is (or at least should be) common sense. But I digress.
