Valentine's Day at Kroger

I needed to pick up a couple things at Kroger last night, but with a bit of snow and ice in the forecast, I decided  that the grocery store was not the place I wanted to be as people fought for the last of the milk, bread and eggs to avoid the possibility of perishing from starvation should the roads be impassable for a few hours.  Really, I have never figured out the attraction of French Toast or bread pudding during a snow storm. (chuckle, chuckle).   Since I don't use any of those sought after items, I needn't worry should the shelves that hold those items become bare.

Foregoing the trip last night, I decided to stop tonight on my way home for the few items I needed.  What the?????   "Did I miss something in the forecast tonight?", I thought, as I pulled into the parking lot. Snow again? You would have thought it was the eve before Thanksgiving or something.   When I enter the store through the door near the floral department I was met with wall to wall  MEN!  Everywhere! Then it came back to me.  Ah ha!   Today is Valentine's Day.   I had somehow forgotten that on the commute home.   There were men of all ages scrambling for that last minute bouquet and card.   It was quite entertaining actually, as one man picked up each bouquet that was on display near the bananas and sniffed each one.  Another looked quite exasperated and undecided between the red roses or the pink lilies.  He tossed both aside and grabbed a simple cellophane wrapped bunch of daisies.  A few didn't even give it a second thought as they just grabbed what ever their hand touched first.  Yeah,  I get it.  Just get something so Mama doesn't make you sleep on the couch tonight.  It doesn't matter that you don't know what her favorite flower is. Its the thought that counts, right? 

But dang it, I need bananas!   I don't want to get trampled in the produce department.  Hey dude!  Yeah, you with the tulips hanging from your fist.  Throw me a bunch of bananas and I will leave you to your confusion!  Thank you!  Hope you get lucky tonight!    Geez,   Let me go around the corner, grab my tofu, and get the heck out of this madness.  I managed to get through the store pretty quickly after I got past the flower riot, and when I wheeled my cart past the card aisle, surprisingly it was empty.   I was secretly glad I didn't have to worry about  any of that.   My girls will be happy as long as their food and water bowls are full and that they can curl up and snooze while I curl up with an episode of some DVR'd  T.V. show and have a bowl of veggie chili. I don't have to pretend to like the flowers that will die in a few days, or ooh and ahh over a card that mimics every other card out there, later to be thrown into a box and forgotten about.  I smile at the thought of each of those men that actually care enough to make an effort, and I hope for their sakes it really is appreciated.   I know they probably really love the woman that they are buying the flowers for. The smiles on their faces as they took their flowers through the checkout proves it.  One day, one night, one life.  

Just a quiet night for me and my girls.  Simple, just the way I like it.  Life is good.