It was a beautiful day and my first day back to finally being able to walk around a grocery store again. My stepmom, Chrissie Perry, was sweet enough to get me groceries the first week. For the two weeks after my surgery, my hubby and Momma would grab stuff here and there for me, or I’d use the app to order and go pick up. That app is pretty convenient for times like this, but I love grocery shopping, so I rarely use it.
Man, it felt good to walk through the doors of Wegmans a few weeks ago. It was late morning when I went, and I just took my merry old time walking around seeing what new goodies I could find. I noticed it was getting pretty busy, and by the time I went to check out, the lines were crazy! At this point, it was lunchtime, so people were stopping in on lunch breaks, I’m sure.
I was in no hurry and was OK to stand in line. My leg felt so darn good that I could have actually done some jumping jacks while I waited. It felt good to feel normal again, but the jumping jacks probably would have landed me in some social media clip of some wacko doing jumping jacks in a grocery line holding her chest, so those ‘puppies’ didn’t come flying out!
(Oh, Andrea. You really do write what you think, don’t you!?)
Hey, well, facts are facts, Jack!
Anyways, enough chest talk….
So, I am standing in line, and there is a woman in front of me and an older gentleman checking out in front of her. The woman in front of me notices that someone left a cold grocery item in one of those boxes with sales items at the end of each register. She hands it to the cashier, whose name is Ruth. The lady in front of me says how rude people have become doing things like this. I agreed. Why is it so hard for people to just hand the items to the cashier if you decide you don’t want it instead of being a jackwad and letting the food go bad!?
I am gonna stop here for a minute.
Come on, people. Don’t be that person. Seriously. If you’re gonna be lazy about not taking it back to where you got it from, at least be considerate and give it to a cashier, or you know what? You know those people that walk around all over Wegmans? They usually have on a Wegmans’ shirt that says (you guessed it) WEGMANS! I am sure if you gave them a cold item that you decided not to get and are in a hurry to leave, they would be more than happy to put it back for you. I’ve seen bags of shrimp, lunch meat, and even milk in random spots. Obviously, that product has to be thrown out now. Do you think about that when you do it? It’s still not OK to me to even throw your six-pack of TP in with the cereal. Come on now, for real!? Let’s get it together, people. It’s so easy to hand it to a clerk or employee. And the good Lord gave us two legs for a reason, so you could walk it back from where ya got it!
OK, I’ve said my piece. Back to the busy lines at Wegmans…
This sweet lady in front of me began to chat with me as she was putting her groceries on the belt. She said how she lived over in Loganton, and they were starting to lay salt down for a storm that was coming. I told her we love to ride our Harleys over there and wave to all the Amish kids. They are so cute when they see motorcycles! It’s beautiful over the mountain, and I also love to shop at Scenic Ridge Foods and Nan’s Donuts are amazing.
We talked a bit more, and the Webb Weekly came up. I asked her if she reads the Webb.
She said she did, so I told her I was Andrea from Andrea’s Country Home Cookin.
Oh my goodness, at this moment, I felt like a celebrity!
She came across the carts and gave me the biggest hug, and said she couldn’t believe it was me. She moved her cart over so Ruth could start ringing up my groceries because she wanted to tell me how much my columns mean to her. Diane was her name, and she told me how she recently had lost her father and that my writing about my faith, family, and food gave her hope.
I can’t tell you how much Diane made my day. We had such a lovely conversation before she even knew who I was. Just a downright good person who I enjoyed talking to while waiting in line instead of doing jumping jacks.
You never know whose lives you can touch. Always be kind because you never know what someone is going through. Like my dad always says, it doesn’t cost anything to be nice.
Not even just in words. But holding the door for someone, a smile to a stranger, or just putting the darn TP back where it’s supposed to go in the store instead of on the shelf with the cereal. These little choices in life are where we can make this world a better place, just by putting things back where they belong or smiling at that stranger. Be a Diane. Be friendly and kind. Have a conversation with a stranger because you never know who you could be talking to.
Sausage Rice & Veggies
Ingredients:
• Hillshire Farm Turkey Sausage
• 1 cup of broccoli, chopped
• 1/2 cup carrots, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 cup onion, chopped
• Steamable Pouch Whole Grain Rice
• 1 tsp garlic
• Pepper and salt to taste
• 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
Directions:
Prep and cut all of your veggies.
Sauté all the veggies but the onions in a large pan on medium heat in the oil. *Add onions and garlic after a few minutes of cooking.*
While veggies cook, slice Turkey sausage into bite-size chunks.
When veggies are all cooked, throw in sausage and cook until browned.
Finally, add rice until warm, stir, and enjoy!
You can also watch a video of me on my YouTube channel, “Andrea’s Country Home Cookin,” of me making this step by step. Come cook with me!
