The Bigelows

The Bigelows
Living the Dream, One Day of Chaos at a Time....

Monday, January 3, 2011

If I end up in Hell...

Today I discovered what my own personal Hell would be...  A non-moving line in Walmart.  My shopping experience today was so tortuous, it deserves a blog post before I even upload pics of Christmas and New Year's!

I have always picked the slow line.  I am magnetically pulled to the line that takes twice as long as any other line in the store.  So when I walked to the checkout area of Walmart today and saw that there were at least 5 people in each line, I knew I was in BIG trouble.  I randomly chose one, but kept my perception up as I checked out the lines around me.  Quickly I jumped ship and ran into another line.  Only two before me, SCORE!

While the line started forming behind me, the lady in front of me looked like she was about to go postal as she explained she had been in line for 30 minutes.  The reason for the long wait:
COUPONERS

Now, I know many of my dear friends cut coupons, so don't take offense.  But it seriously takes so long to get through the line with coupons.  And while this woman was happy to waste all of our time so she could get processed food for free, all I could think about was how I would happily PAY DOUBLE for my groceries if it meant I could be at the front of the line!

Without so much as an apologetic look over her shoulder, I honestly feared for this woman's life when, and if, she ever finished paying for her groceries.  The family in front of me was just what you would expect at Walmart:  Frumpy, Sloppy, Loud, Unruly kids, and a cart filled with fruit punch and fritos.  Their behavior alone made me embarrassed to even be there.  I really am going to Hell, aren't I?

I scanned for another line, and to my dismay no one in any of the lines near to me had moved at all either!  Did every line have a crazy coupon lady at the front?  And every cart was filled to the brim.  Was everyone else stocking up for the new year like I was?

I kept waiting for a charismatic TV host to jump out and tell us we were all part of a sick social experiment.  But no, this was real life.  Could there be anything more volatile that a line that doesn't move?

And the only way to bring about the change the world needs is to STOP SHOPPING AT WALMART!

Seriously.  I am willing to pay more for organic foods.  So why am I not willing to pay for them at a different store?  Today I had to literally wait in line to go down the grocery aisles.  I had to search for what I wanted because everything I needed today was in dire need of being restocked.  Then I had to stand in line and risk my blood pressure, just to save a few dollars by shopping in Hell?  I mean Walmart.  Not worth it!

But somehow through all 34 minutes of waiting in line, all 3 of my kids behaved.   This was largely due to the old bag of licorice I found in my purse, leftover from taking the kids to the movies over a week ago.  But still.  No one cried, got in a fight, whined, or had to use the bathroom.  A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

8 comments:

  1. I had a similar experience at Walmart recently (actually, it's probably happened more than once). I'm not sure what it is about that place, but normally considerate and appologetic people become monsters! While waiting in this long line, and another person unknowingly cut in line, and a seemingly sweet lady just chewed her out. Wow. I completely agree with you that Walmart can be a personal hell.

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  2. Love this post, feel your pain...

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  3. Funny post--I'm sure it wasn't funny during any one of the 34 minutes you were standing there!

    Another pet peeve is when I'm in a hurry to get through the grocery line, and the person in front of me pulls out a check book!

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  4. 2 things I HATE:

    Walmart + Shopping with kids = always a nightmare!

    Congrats on surviving!

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  5. I hate, Hate, HATE shopping at Wal-mart. No matter what time we went they ONLY ever have about four registers open when there are almost 50 of them! No matter how many people are in line.

    Your post was fantastic. I was laughing to myself the entire time, only because I feel ya and could see the entire thing happening.
    At least your kids were awesome! Next time Target. :)

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  6. Hilarious! Totally relate to you as well. I have totally stopped doing any grocery shopping at Walmart, and just plan an hour if I go there, but lately I've been doing non-food shopping at Target and food at Fred Meyer.. Totally worth it to not have the line and to have the little perks like kids playplace and free cookies mid trip.

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  7. Seriously, had PTSD flashbacks of my own hellish Walmart experiences while reading this! I don't live very close to a walmart here, so I've only been to one 3 times since moving to Colorado. It is so freeing!! Yes, maybe I pay a little more when I buy groceries at a regular grocery store, and I definitely pay more at the health food store, but I save my sanity, exactly as you were saying. Plus, Walmart has a terrible produce section. At least in Montana they did.

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  8. What great kids you have! I'd just like to say how incredibly happy I am right now that I don't shop at wal-mart!

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