Crunchy Bagels and Juicy Green Apples

I was dreading today’s trip to the grocery store. There is a major snowstorm coming, Stella. School for tomorrow was cancelled at 2:30 today…that never happens. I knew I would get caught right in the rush of all the people out to stock up on bread and milk…snowstorm staples. I wasn’t going for either of those items. When I announced I was going to the grocery store while driving my girls to Mimi’s house before school this morning, I asked, “What do we need?”

To which Wren promptly replied, “Crunchy bagels and juicy green apples.” Noted.

When I pulled into the parking lot after school, I noticed the unusual amount of cars, the empty cart station, and as I stepped through the doors…the ransacked shelves. As I navigated the cart I had managed to find, I ran into a friend from my former school. We hugged and talked kids for a few minutes. Then I was off to find the crunchy bagels and apples.

As I turned towards the produce section, I saw another former colleague, the teacher I replaced as a literacy teacher when she had retired, a real inspiration. We hugged and talked careers and kids and writing. Ahhh. Writing. She is a writer. Friends with Carl, Lucy, and Ralph. I told her about this writing challenge. “That deserves another hug,” she beamed as she pulled me in close.

Time to check out. Another teacher from the past with her son. We talk about the storm. I pay. We hug.

I was dreading today’s trip to the grocery store. I went in for crunchy bagels and juicy green apples. I left with four hugs.