"Do you think we'll find anything to eat in there?" Sam whispered hurriedly to me.
"I--I don't know, babe. I hope so. We haven't eaten an actual meal in--in---a week," said I.
Slowly Sam reached his hand out toward the fridge door, fingers trembling.
I looked at him with worried eyes and his eyes were squinting in a mixture of pain and anticipation.
He grasped the door and I held my breath.
He whipped the door open and we both jumped back, blinded by the white of the light of the fridge reflecting off the empty walls off the empty cavern that once was our fridge. The shelves were full of ketchup and pickle bottles---milk in the door. Otherwise empty.
I felt ill and fell backwards in a faint. I hit the floor with a thud and Sam just stood there, horrified. He grabbed his hair and screamed at the top of his lungs and ran out into the cold cold night like a banshee seeking a victim.
Okay. So it wasn't that bad...but really---we had nothing in our fridge but condiments. I had to go shopping.
Sam and I usually skimp on food because we don't really eat a lot and don't want to buy things that will go to waist (or waste). That, and usually we are so short on cash we can't really afford a lot of extravagant foods. We make do with chips and salsa, soups, and sandwiches! We love it! (This is where I must put in how appreciative I am that I have a man who doesn't need steak and potatoes every night).
I started picking out some pork and roasts (a delicacy in our house..ha!), some hamburger helpers, some fruits and veggies, and some frozen dinners I could assemble really quickly. I realized at this point the genius of going up and down every aisle. A person first thinks to themselves "I need so many things. How will I separate out which aisles I need to go down?" Then it hits them, like the store unconsciously adding subliminal messages to the elevator music overhead, "I could just go down every aisle!" Sure enough---every aisle is pleasing, full of all sorts of food you need and really don't need. Pure genius. For some reason, cans of soup and boxes of macaroni seem to jump off the shelves into your cart squealing "Take me home, take me home!"
My cart is never more than one layer full of food when we go shopping. This time, my cart was about 2-3 layers full of food---about 1/4 full. Got up to the register and wondered to myself "How did a bag of marshmallows get in there? What is that block of cheese doing down under the chips?"
Total Cost : $105.35. HOLY MOLY I broke one hundred. I felt like I had just spent our whole paycheck on food! We don't spend that much ever on food. Yet... with the deep dark empty cavern that is our fridge waiting for me at home, I knew I had to come home with enough food to satiate it's need to be full and provide purpose. A peace offering, if you will, with the machines. Bring food, and the ice maker will not crap out on you next week like was anticipated. Bring more meat to put in the freezer and the faucet will give hot water quicker than usual for a month.
It's a vicious cycle.
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