Ode to My Fellow Publix Shopper

To the lady with whom I did not get the pleasure of formally meeting, I apologize. Oh wait. That's right. I did apologize. Several times, actually, as I was picking your boxes of Stove Top & Immodium up off of the floor. {Which, by the way, that was a lot of Immodium - are we planning on contracting the flu or.....?} It may have been hard to hear over the whines and shouts of 'Mom-EE' and 'I can't get the lid off of these peanuts...' but I really and truly am sorry that my buggy took yours out in the pharmacy department of Publix. I thought I could make that turn but these beastly carts just aren't made for that type of maneuvering and you happened to be in the middle of the aisle in my path and so I am very sorry. We've had plenty of grocery store mishaps but this was a first, if you can believe that. I didn't really think I had any of those left.

After I cleaned up your buggy and hurried off in shame, I bet I can guess what you were thinking. Probably what everyone else in the store was thinking. Why on earth would this loon bring her children {all clearly hungry and overstimulated} into a grocery store at dinner time? There couldn't possibly be anything worth that much stress to self and society. But then you would be mistaken. It's Wednesday, of course. Wednesday + Publix = PENNY ITEM. Unless the item is pet food or sardines, I'm not passing it up. And today's item happened to be a staple in our house - cereal. Or so that's what they started the day with. I soon found out that they ran low and decided to switch it to coffee. After some conversation, they agreed to let me swap Publix-brand frosted flakes for the coffee. So maybe it wasn't so much my petitioning. Maybe it was because d2 and d3 were in the process of opening a pack of Rolos and they wanted me to take control of the situation that they allowed the substitution. Either way, I was grateful. I decided not to mention the fact that I had already meal planned around the crushed cornflakes. I know to take the victories where you can. I also scored a few good deals on cookie dough, toothpaste, pasta and the aforementioned peanuts, thanks to my handy dandy coupons. For me, the trip was productive. Hope yours was as well.


Please find it in your heart to forgive us. We are just trying to get the most bang for our buck. Ok, when I say we , maybe I have a mouse in my pocket. These kids don't really grasp the idea of being frugal but, right now, we have one in diapers, two in year-round athletics and all three in ongoing growth spurts. I have no choice but to cut corners {literally, it appears} to stop the bleeding on our budget. As much as I do try and take care of such matters without said children, sometimes it's just not possible. I would promise that this won't happen again but the only way I could keep that promise is if you start doing all your grocery shopping at Wal-Mart. Otherwise, until next time, lady.....