I like to spend quality time with my son in the evenings. I’m can’t be sure what this might mean for other fathers, but lately for me it’s meant taking Jared on a walk with me to the grocery store across the street (Ralph’s) to peruse the day old bakery rack, and the cereal, cookie, and ice cream aisles. On the way there and back we look for rabbits, and I usually let him ride in one of the grocery carts made out to be a race car. He and I are of such a like mind now that he is the one asking to take a walk down the cereal aisle if I have spent too much time in front of the day old rack.* It’s our bonding time.
It may be hard to believe, but Ralph’s is still trying to clear out its Easter candy inventory. Granted there isn’t much left: spiced jelly beans, opened and/or broken (and perhaps half eaten?) chocolate Easter bunnies, and some devilish looking “Orange Créme Peeps” (I’m sure whomever came up with that idea no longer works for Peeps—because I can’t see those things selling at any price).
So given the sad state of the Easter candy bins, I certainly must’ve come off as one of those creepy guys from the wrong side of the tracks when I started digging through the candy bins trying to find what treasures there were at the bottom. And oh were there treasures! Tonight I found some Reese’s Easter Eggs, Snickers Easter Eggs, Dove Chocolate Truffle Eggs, Cadbury Caramel Eggs, and a few choice (and in tact) Easter bunnies—one of which was filled with Reese’s peanut butter and the other which had a Hot Wheels toy car inside the chocolate. Michelle must’ve been half crazed because, not only did she let me put all of these things in our otherwise barren grocery cart, she was right there digging with me!
I still had sense enough to feel a little embarrassed when I brought all of this candy to the checkout. I tried to avoid eye contact with other customers in line who could see what I had in the cart, and then felt the need to make an awkward joke about feeling a strange need for Easter candy, nearly a month after Easter, to try and cover my tracks. The checker saw right through me. I’m sure he’d seen my kind before—probably even worse.
Ah, but it was all quality family time. There’s nothing like spending time with family.
*The latest temptation: a 3 lb. party plate of brownies bites, regularly $14.99, but on the day old rack for $5. Tonight there were two of them. I actually had one of them in my cart, but unfortunately Michelle was with me. She could not see any scenario by which have that many brownies in our home would be a good thing.
2 comments:
"I’m sure he’d seen my kind before—probably even worse."
There's nothing worse than that. Nothing.
I beg to differ. I'm sure the checker and the other customers were only staring at Aaron and family with admiration and jealousy. I mean, here's a guy who has actually found Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs a month after Easter at a huge discount. Any negative feelings directed toward the Clarks were probably more along the lines of "Why didn't *I* think of scrounging through the bottom of the Easter candy bin?"
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