These days, grocery shopping sometimes feels as if it has turned into an all-day affair with no end in sight.

I wuz just thinking about a conversation a group of former KHS ’63 classmates were having at a local restaurant.  This particular subject turned to grocery shopping and how it is no longer a joy for some.

One of the husbands said he could not understand why his wife hated to go grocery shopping. It seems the pantry shelves and refrigerator seem to be almost bare before she will make the trip.

I began thinking about grocery shopping and what it all entails.

You take the time to  make a grocery list. You have to  consider the price increases of each. You have to find time to dress, put on make-up, decide on the store, make the drive and find a parking spot.

You walk up and down each aisle, making choices from your  grocery list, looking for sale items, and possibly searching for enjoyable snacks.

After selecting all the items, you have to wait in line at a self -checking station that just became “out of order” or be next in line at the register where the cashier is having a problem with that customer’s check, bank card, or credit card.

Finally, it is your turn and you try to keep up with the items being rang up to be sure of the correct pricing.

Now it is time for the groceries to be taken to the automobile.

According to which store one goes, some will carry your packages to your automobile for you or  you are responsible for taking the groceries the distance to your automobile, unload them all, and then return the cart to the stations provided.

Now it is time to drive home in possibly inclement weather, school traffic, or traffic caused by work shift changes.

Arriving home, you have to unload all the groceries and carry them into house.

Some items may need to be carried to different parts of the home, some placed on the pantry shelves, and others put in the refrigerator/ freezer.

By this time one is worn out and need to rest feet and legs.

Now, it is time to cook the next meal.  Products removed from refrigerator and the shelves to create a delicious meal for the family.

After the meal, pots and pans – as well as dishes, bowls, silverware, and glasses/ cups – are washed, then dried.  They are all put away.

Left-over foods put into small containers and placed in refrigerator, empty packaging placed in kitchen trash.

By this time, most of the family have already retired to bed for the night.

You finally get your bath, soak your exhausted body, and crawl into bed.

After a few days, the refrigerator is cleaned out of uneaten left-over foods, containers washed, dried, and put away.

Kitchen trash carried to outside container to await the garbage collection day.

Now, after all this work, day after day of preparing meals and enduring the same routine, it is time to return to the grocery store for more purchases.

I’m beginning to better understand why some do not enjoy going grocery shopping as perhaps they might have in earlier years…as I wuz jus thinking.