Going to the grocery store is sometimes a pleasure, as we fill our carts with staples and seasonal treats. But let’s be real—grocery shopping is also a chore, often an energy-draining one as we navigate tight aisles, missed items on our lists or sudden brain-freezes about what on earth we want to eat for dinner tonight.
By the time I’ve gotten through all this, waited on line, and loaded my selections onto the conveyer belt to check out, I often feel pretty low on reserves. I know the next step will be to load the groceries into the car, unload them at home and put them away in the refrigerator and pantry. It’s a big project, keeping human beings fed!
Which is why I so love and appreciate it when, right in the middle of this multi-step process, a kind soul steps up, takes my grocery bags and fills them with my purchases.
This is something I can do myself, and sometimes do. But on a busy day, with a long grocery list, I feel myself noticeably relax when the store provides a helper to tuck my purchases into bags for me.
Not only does it give me a chance to stop the “doing” just for a couple of minutes, it also encourages me to accept help and notice how positive it feels to turn over even a small part of a regular chore to someone who can make it a little bit easier for me.
Life is full of small opportunities to accept help from others and appreciate the benefits their hard work offers. A grocery bagger is one such helper. What others do you particularly notice? Have you thanked them lately? I promise, it will feel good to use some of your newly recovered energy to do so.
