Making An Effort…More Than Just A Trip To Trader Joe’s.
Making an effort with family is important as we age.
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When we went to the Buffalo, New York area this past week to visit family, I had no plans to see my sister. We were staying at my sister-in-law’s condo and my sister lives 45 minutes away in a town on the other side of the city. Essentially, one lives in the Southtowns and the other in the Northtowns (with Buffalo in between).
But I had planned a trip to Trader Joe’s. I know it sounds silly, but I’d never been to one of their stores before. When I look where exactly it was located, it was in my old stomping grounds of Niagara Falls Boulevard, an area I was extremely familiar with from living in North Buffalo before.
When I realized where it was, I texted my sister. My husband and sister-in-law were headed to a funeral. I had a couple of hours to spend…so, I reached out. I wanted to make an effort.
Don’t get me wrong, my sister and I have a good relationship. But we are in two different stages of life. My husband and I are retired, and fancy-free. She and her husband are still working full-time. They are both a little younger than us. And in all honesty, she’s at the peak of her career. I understand why she’s still working. When we come into town to see my parents who live about 70 miles up the NYS Thruway from my sister, we often do not have a chance to see each other. We did fit in a quick visit in September because we were in town for a wedding. I took a chance this time on a spur-of-the-moment meeting.
She accepted. We would meet at the entrance to Trader Joe’s in 40 minutes.
Picture, if you will, traveling 25 miles on 8-10 lane highways for those 40 minutes. It is a Saturday two weeks before the Christmas Holiday. And we are meeting at a popular grocery store. To describe it as busy would be an understatement!
Yes, it was a half-baked idea. And, yes, it was worth it!
Trader Joe’s was a zoo. We both knew it would be. I quickly made a loop of the store, picking up three bags of Meyer Lemons, dehydrated blueberries, and a couple of edible stocking stuffers. Of course, I saw more items that I could have purchased. But the store was nuts. There was no organization and…
