I’m not much of a grocery shopper. Though I’d heard about curbside pickup prior to the pandemic, I fell in love with it during March 2020. Prior to that I honestly thought it was for the elderly or people who couldn’t get around the store or whatever. No. No, friends. IT IS FOR EVERYONE! That’s my story and I’m sticking to it or so the song is sung…
My version of the story: I do at least one Dillon’s pickup order each week. Sometimes it’s two and sometimes there’s a Walmart pickup in there too. (Side note: I frequently joke that our son, Nate, needs a personal assistant. He’s not alone!) There for half a hot second, the stores charged you $5.00 for the pickup service which made me pause for half a hot minute, but let’s discuss: This is the best $5.00 I spent every week. Now, luckily, both Dillon’s and Walmart are waiving that fee in our current reality. Thank you, Jesus!
I know there are people who like to pick out their chicken breast or hand-select their tomatoes, but friends, I’m just not one of them. That ship has sailed! Though I’m very much a type-A control freak, I’m gonna let go and let God Dillon’s do this one for me.
Mostly I’ve had good results, but this week, I got burned… or so I thought.
It’s a big week at our house! Our son is one of the leads in the high school musical (just like his mama was before him – just ask me, I never once didn’t want to tell that story). We have family coming in from Texas, Florida, and around the state. I’m planning some rather large meals! I’m excited about it more so this year than previous years because we’ve invited our Family Dinner kids to join us. I don’t know if they’ll all go to the show or not, but we hope they’ll come meet our family and friends from out of town and join us for these extra-special meals.
Today, I did a pickup order at Dillon’s. A neighbor of ours, who regularly brings my order to my vehicle, commented that he was surprised to see me again so soon. I typically do orders on the weekend – Tuesday isn’t my usual to say the least. I’ve been watching the sales and working on my menus for about a week, so I was very disappointed when he told me the store was out of the discounted chuck roast I’d ordered. Granted I’d ordered four of them, but still. I was planning to serve French Dip sandwiches the first night of the show, so I needed 8-10 pounds of roast for the group I’m feeding. To add insult to injury, the bakery didn’t make the sub sandwich rolls I’d ordered today and that order was unfilled as well! Are you kidding?!? What was I supposed to do for my opening night meal?
Feeling grumpy, I opened my weather app just to remind myself of what I’d noticed last week: The forecast for Saturday predicted the coldest weather and thus coincided with my plan for soup for dinner that day. BUT WAIT! The forecast changed! I know you’re surprised because I live in Kansas… 😆
The updated forecast slated Thursday as the coldest night for my Musical Marathon of Meals! Turns out, I can serve the soup on Thursday! Every ingredient for soup was included in my order, unlike of ill-fated French Dip. The menu is SAVED! Imagine my elation… no seriously. (I called three people just to make sure the new plan worked.) I know the shoppers employed by the store can be annoying, but I’m truly grateful for them. I’ve been using the pickup orders for more than three years now and Creating Family Dinner wouldn’t be possible without the work of these wonderful people.
So next time one of them is in your way at the store, take “half a hot second” to remember me and my gratitude. Each of us needs something a little different in this life to make the carousel keep spinning. Even when God’s plan is better than mine… okay, always… when God’s got a better plan, I hope I choose to be grateful. It may not be my default, but it’s way more than two steps forward and never includes a step back.
Creating Family Dinner 