On Miracles Witnessed At The Price Chopper on Main St. PIOG

[sammysunshine72]

I was moved to tears when I saw this happen at my local grocery store...We post a lot of negative stuff about selfish moms or welfare moms, sometimes we just need perspective...some moms who know me in RL will recognize this from FB, CC or my regular blog...

I was inspired by this post http://www.cafemom.com/group/31609/boards/read/4498611

On Miracles Witnessed At The Price Chopper on Main St.

(Imported from my member blog at www.curvychick.com, www.facebook.com and http://rantravebeeyotch.blogspot.com/)

I do a lot of posting on a Facebook group called Overheard in Fredericton, which is similar in style to the popular Internet site, Overheard in New York. It is always good for laugh, as you couldn’t even make up some of the things people actually say and do in public.

I am often gobsmacked by the things people say and do but, without fail, I post them on OIF and giggle with everyone else. People might say that I am nosy, I like to call it interested and observational. I am Ok with that.

I often see so many displays of less than polite behavior and truly shocking things, it was so amazing to see what I saw while doing my weekly shopping. A breath of fresh air in this season of giving. Last Friday night, I had to go grocery shopping.

So, with my three year old daughter in tow, off I went to the Price Chopper on Main St. I was doing a lot of inner grumbling about budgets and so much week left at the end of the money and the like, when I saw another mother and a three year old boy doing their shopping as well. They were going through the aisles the same time we were, the mom was very careful in her purchases, always picking out the most economic item on offer.

At the freezer case, there were some rolls of chocolate chip cookie dough on sale. I picked up some and the other mom did as well. Our children were visibly excited by the idea of cookies and in fact, both held the rolls of frozen dough till we reached the checkout counter. The two preschoolers giggled and toched the rolls of cookie dough together as if they were making a toast.

The other mom went in before I did and started getting her groceries checked through. Along came another lady with only a dozen eggs to buy so, I let her go on ahead. The mom was checking things through and looking more apprehensive by the second as she watched the total on the screen tick up higher and higher. She asked the cashier to only let it go up to one hundred dollars as that was all she had. She then produced a bank deposit envelope with all her money inside.

The total quickly went up to one hundred and she did some creative readjusting to make sure the needed things were left on the order. It was almost under the budget price, and there was a choice between some bath soap for herself and the roll of cookie dough for the little boy. She asked the checker to take the bath soap off the order.

As a parent, I understand this choice, parents make choices every day that put the comfort and happiness of their children above their own needs. It was everything I could do not to cry after witnessing this.

The mom took her groceries, minus the soap, and went outside to wait for her drive by the entrance of the store.

The lady in front of me, who only had to buy a dozen eggs, asked the cashier to put the soap on her bill. She paid, took her change and ran out the door. From what I could see from where I stood, she gave the lady the soap. Not one word was said between the women but the conversation the two had with their eyes was amazing.

After a brief moment, the lady walked away. When you see things like this, especially during this season, it gives you a certain perspective. It puts everything in order, how we are buying bigger and better, just for the sake of it, just because we can. How we drive ourselves to the brink just to buy those new skis or new music player. If we had to pare things back so far financially that we had to make a choice between soap or a treat for a child, how would we manage?

I read once, I can’t remember where, that poverty is cooking without food and cleaning without soap. Now I can see how this may be. This showed me that our gifts do not have to be large or expensive to be meaningful, this was never so clear as it was the night I witnessed the grocery store miracle on Main St.

© sgmffh 12/07

[PrincessFiona]

Jul. 23, 2008 at 10:10 AM

Thank you for sharing this , it really makes you think especially now a days where everything is going up and up in price and the middle class people are ending up near the poverty line. Thank you again.

[sammysunshine72]

Jul. 23, 2008 at 1:59 PM

AW, thank you for reading my story...and it certainly does make you think...cheers!

(Original Poster)