Tuesday, April 13, 2021

A Little Lapse


What a silly numbskull I am! I paid for my groceries in the store at the checkout, and walked away without my purchases. I only realized what a dithering nincompoop I'd been until I drove into my carport, 20 minutes later, with no groceries to carry inside.

I guess I don't know how in-person grocery shopping works any more! I've got used to the convenience of ordering online and having someone load it into the back of my car for me.

What actually transpired to precipitate walking out without my groceries, was that after paying, I asked the cashier if they carried our community newspaper, The Reporter. She pointed to a set of shelves beyond the checkout area, and to one near the pharmacy. So I headed off to check the shelves (in vain) at each location, then left the store, without thinking to return to the checkout for my fruits and vegetables!

If you know me at all, you will remember that I usually try to minimize trips by car for items on a whim (and particularly during COVID), and only drop into the store for essentials if I'm already out on another errand. This was one such occasion - I'd had a dental checkup just across the street from the grocery store, where avocados and strawberries were on special for the week. I decided I should capitalize on such an aligning of the stars. Ha! I ended up having to make 2 trips to the store instead - I might just as well have gone on a separate day, when I felt like it!

And as for Kahlil Gibran's crazy-ass wisdom, that claims “Forgetfulness is a form of freedom," I'd like to know what he was on ... ? Sounds like a euphemism for explaining dementia politely.

As we reflected on what I affectionately call 'my little lapse' over lunch, my forgetfulness generated a lot of mirth, and had us laughing for a long time afterwards, so perhaps Shakespeare had a better take on it when Gratiano says, "With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come." (Merchant of Venice). The laughter my lapse caused was well worth the experience! 😀 Laughter helps us live longer so we can get old wrinkles!





2 comments:

Shelley Burbank said...

Oh my goodness! That really is funny, Debbie. But also, I can imagine driving into the driveway and realizing what happened. Sometimes that trip to Hannford's seems SO long.

Debbie said...

Faux pas like this can be quite funny. Yep, that drive seems long when you have to do it twice in a day.