Why I Am NOT Going to be Hired at a Grocery Store Anytime Soon

I know we've all worked some non-glam jobs before. My personal favorite was collecting trash at Union Square in the heat of the summer - so smelly. Or changing the marquee sign standing on a little ledge or the top of a ladder (I'm afraid of heights). But mostly I pressed, measured, and put hems in draperies at our family business. I was never employed at a grocery store - never faced isles, never rung people up, or never bagged groceries.

It seems simple enough. I've bought enough groceries to know that some baggers smash my food and others seem to have a system. But there are a few grocery stores where us lay-baggers can give it a try. I usually stay away from Food 4 Less for this very reason. When I first visited a local grocer (WinCo) with the baby in the carrier, I was kind of wishing I could cuss while I was bagging my many groceries with my back aching. But I kind of like the deals at this store, so I recently return kid-free.

Having no baby meant hefting the 25 lb. bag of sugar was a doable task. Anyway, I group my boxed items together. All the stuff that goes in the fridge I bag together. The freezer stuff goes together. All the canned goods that need to go to my pantry get looted together. Chicken goes separate and strawberries go on top. Seems like a reasonable way to pack the groceries.

On the way out of the store, my bag of chicken flopped out and I ran it over with my cart. Tread marks on the chicken breast - oops! Later I ripped the bag with cans in it so I had refried beans, corn, & kidney beans rolling in separate directions around the parking lot. On the drive home, an eager stop sent the bags of brown sugar toppling over.

Next time I go to a full service grocery store, I need to take better notes.