Shopping Together

We do the big grocery shopping for the week together on Saturday afternoons. I have a pass for a wholesale place and he just loves going there: you can buy in bulk, they sell all kinds of stuff including electronic devices and household appliances (there are no Wal-Marts where we live… supermarkets only stock food and every-day supplies like tampons, toilet paper, etc.), and most important of all: it’s usually empty.

Because He-who-carries-the-heavy-things is the one preparing most of the meals, he also needs to be there when it comes to buying food. I must admit I am a very un-inspired grocery shopper. I can buy according to a list, but when it comes to standing there and deciding what it is we are going to need and what ingredients we need to buy and what we are going to make with them I fail. I think it’s the creation of a menu that stumps me, because as soon as I’m told what we are going to eat I know more or less which ingredients are needed. Anyway, he’s really good at coming up with the answer to “what are we going to eat?”. So it’s great to have him come along and decide what to buy and to just look at random stuff like different kinds of straws, or microwave ovens with an extra hot plate on top.

It takes us about an hour to meander through all the aisles. Then we fill the car (currently a mini-van) with groceries, drive home and he carries most of the stuff (about twice as much as I do) up the four flights of stairs. We’ve basically given up on buying water and juices because they are just too heavy. Instead we use syrups and powders for mixing with tap water. And we drink lots of tea.

Two weeks ago we went to IKEA and bought some glass containers for our teas (it looks a lot nicer than just having them sit there in plastic bags). We also bought some frames to hang the Aboriginal art my mom gave me and some baby-fotos of both him and me. But what really made that trip to IKEA decisive for me was that we both had a lot of fun. It was a Saturday, around noon. The place was packed. We had lunch there (which was good). We did not let the crowds bother us (it’s the individuals in the crowd that get to me). We took our time. We stood in line for forever at the cash-register and spent that time discussing other people’s purchases. And we successfully purchased everything we needed. It was a very positive bonding experience. And it didn’t really take anything special.