What I’ve Learned about Grocery Shopping, and A Few Other Things...

Happiness Hacks

May 24

Happy Friday, and phew! Has this week gone as quickly for you as it has for me? As the school year comes to an end and summer approaches, I feel like I’m in one of those movie montages where the calendar flips forward through the months, flowers grow taller, and everyone’s hairstyles change!

It’s a holiday weekend here, and the day outside is delightful, so this week’s dispatch is brief, with a short list of unsolicited opinions and things I’ve been thinking about, and have learned lately, plus a juicy list of links!

Unsurprisingly, given that we’ll be entertaining friends this weekend, I’ve got meal planning, grocery shopping, and eating on my mind…

Grocery shopping is a chore best shared. After nearly two decades as the primary grocery shopper for our family of four, I have developed an intense dislike for the many aspects (meal-planning, list-making, price-checking, fruit-sniffing, bagging, carrying, car-loading-and-unloading, putting things in the fridge and pantry) of this seemingly innocuous activity. In the past, when I noticed people shopping in pairs, I silently judged them: Why would two people do a chore that could be done by one? I thought to myself. But, twice recently, my husband, Jim, and I have grocery shopped together, dividing the list between us and, most crucially, splitting the tasks of unpacking and putting everything away at home. I’ve found sharing the burden so much more pleasant than shopping solo, I might start looking forward to doing it!
Lunch conversations are better than those at dinner. Lately, I’ve noticed that the conversations I have with friends over lunch are much more interesting and meaningful than those over dinner, and I have a few theories about why this is. I think many people are more alert at lunchtime: I know I am - the closer it gets to my preferred 9 pm bedtime, my brain starts shutting down. Lunch places tend to be quieter, and therefore, I can hear what people are saying (yes, I’m a middle-aged grump). When I meet friends for lunch, we’re usually a group of four or less, so we can all join the same conversation. At dinners, I’m often with a larger group, and when the conversations split, I’m always wondering what people across the table are talking about instead of concentrating on who I’m talking to. Another thing: most people I lunch with don’t drink alcohol, whereas at dinner, most people do, and I wonder if the fuzziness induced by drinking affects the quality of the chatter.
Reducing the sugar I consume reduces my sugar cravings. I have long described myself as a chocoholic with a raging sweet tooth but recently discovered that all those doctors and scientists are right about sugar being addictive and that eating some leads to wanting more. Yes, I had read and heard this advice many times but didn’t believe it until I recently halved the amount of sugar in my morning tea. Another benefit: when I reduce the sugar I consume in the morning, I don’t feel the same energy dip at 3 pm every day. Science wins again!
Teens count as adults for meal-planning purposes. For years, when entertaining a group of adults and children, I’d assume the kids would eat half as much as the adults. Not anymore! It’s taken me a while to adjust to the reality that given that most of the children in my life are teens, “kids” eat adult-sized portions!
As summer approaches, and I find so much joy in noticing the greening of the trees, budding flowers, and birdsong, I’m thinking about how to maintain this appreciation of nature during the winter months. I tend to bemoan the dearth of color and life in the cold season, and I’d like to find a way to embrace the change in landscape and activity, instead of bundling up and turning my attention indoors. It may be that appreciating the comfort and warmth of my home is the answer, but I have a feeling that if I pay closer attention, I may find a way to savor nature’s gifts in every season.