Good Mornin’! Good Mornin’!
I remember the first COVID-19 day, kind of. It was surreal and governors across America shut down their states. Some sooner than others, some with far reaching power that gets folks’ attention. And not always for the good. I work at home so being sequestered didn’t seem to be that big of deal to me.
I was wrong. Boy, was I wrong…
The first moments were like when snow is predicted and everyone heads to the grocery store. As one of those with what I thought was enough milk and bread and a decent amount of toilet paper,
I chuckled.
Picked up a few items myself and got back home to hunker down. But snowstorms don’t last more than a day or so, if that. Normalcy returns to the grocery store in a couple of days…usually.
But not this time. With each venture out to grocery shop, I found nothing of my normal needs and wants.
It felt much like Russia that I visited in 1992 with bread lines and lines for simple items that there were only a few of. Toilet paper was gone, Shelves were empty. But why? I never really found a great explanation and no one seemed to care about the why, just finding and taking.
Then it was wipes and anything to sanitize. Lysol became gold. Then folks hit the regular groceries.
I reckon not many folks in the world actually know how to cook because the hamburger meat and chicken went first. I’d be scared of those first cooking endeavors. Then, the bacon shelves got cleaned out lonely. The meat and vegetables that take a little thinking and talent to put together remained on the shelf and I snuck those into my basket hoping no one noticed.
It all came in waves. First, everyone bought up absolutely everything they liked, then what they thought they needed.
My favorite coffee was sparse, so I had to branch out. Soon, the grocery stores a battleground to be avoided so I ventured to smaller restaurant supply type stores and found they had treasures – even ones in single servings. I found a new coffee or two that weren’t bad.
The veggies they had sufficed and I stocked up on spices as well. I did even buy a 25-pound bag of self-rising flour but now I realize I need a container to put it in. I haven’t opened it yet. I still had some bags of self-rising in the pantry.
Our fridge has been overloaded and the freezer is busting at the seams. The impulse buys and thinking if I don’t buy all of this today, it won’t be here tomorrow or the next day. Now we can’t see everything in the fridge and some treasures get lost and eventually wasted. I didn’t have a good plan. It was react and shop, I reckon. Not a good idea.
I found things online but then the wait time is just insane. I’m actually still waiting on some toilet paper that I ordered eight weeks ago and counting. Good thing I found some here and there to stay stocked up.
I’ll be glad when this is over and the streets and stadiums fill back up with folks. Oh, and I still need a container or two to put that flour in…
