The big outing for today was a 2-hour shopping trip to the grocery
store. Now this may sound silly, but you don’t know Ma.
Ma can become cantankerous on
shopping trips. If she’s not hurling complaints about the store itself, she may
likely wander off in a place like Costco, where she can be impossible to find
at the petite stature of 5 feet 2 inches.
But today was different. Ma was
walking slowly, pacing herself through the store. We deliberated on each aisle,
reading what it contained, and then deciding if we needed anything on it. She
reminded me of things we needed that I’d forgotten. We negotiated and came to
an agreement to pass on foods that weren’t diabetic-friendly (I relented on the
Gluten Free Waffles.) We talked about veggies each of us liked, that neither of
us knew the other liked (and threw some in the cart.) I asked her which meats
she liked and she picked out a few types. And, as we finally ended up at the
register with a full cart that took both of us to push, she was still in good
spirits.
She chatted and joked with the
cashier, then told her how she normally is forced to rush through the store,
but today she got to experience it fully. Although this statement didn’t
surprise me, as we usually do rush through the stores, it got me thinking.
Was all our rushing around causing
her displeasure at the stores? If we simply gave her the time to shop (taking
it slow to explore everything) would she find shopping pleasant, maybe even
enjoyable? If this one trip was any indication of how to do it right, maybe it
needs to be the guide for all future shopping trips.
What I learned – Allow for the time on the things your loved
one enjoys - it may improve your experience and your interactions.
What do you rush through that a
loved one might want to take more time on?
