(Or, Reflections on Grocery Shopping)

Anyone who has taken lessons in something creative—singing, dancing, instruments—has heard the instruction to do it again. And, “with feeling!”

But, oh my, I hate to repeat things.

That’s why my piano-playing skills never excelled. To improve, you have to play the same songs or scales over and over again.

Same with sewing. One mistake, and you’ve got to pick out all those seams and start over.

Gardening? Sigh. Pull a weed today and another takes its place tomorrow.

And, to everything I say to my father (yes, everything), Dad responds, “What?” Which, of course, forces me to repeat.

I know this is a weakness. I know it’s an AFI (area for improvement, as we used to say in corporate life, back in the day).

I’m pretty sure that if I could master patience in those times, God would wink and smile at me.

I also acknowledge I should look at the glass half full: no obsessive-compulsive tendencies for this gal!

However, I have so much on my list of things to accomplish, that I don’t want to have to repeat any of them.

With that in mind, it struck me the other day why I hate to grocery shop. Here’s why:

1. You take the items off the shelf and put them in the cart.
2. You take the items from the cart and put them on a conveyor belt.
3. You take the items from the belt and put them in a bag.
4. You take the bags from the carousel and put them back in the cart.
5. You take the bags from the cart and put them in the trunk.
6. You take the bags from the trunk and put them on the counter.
7. You take the items off the counter and put them in the cupboard.

Now, here’s the real kicker – You have to repeat these repeats at least once a week.

That’s a lot of repeating for someone like me.

But, in the end, once I whine enough about the task, I come to my senses and say, “Thank you, Lord, for feet that can walk me into a store, and hands that can lift and maneuver these items, and a wallet that allows me to pay for the food.”

Funny thing is, after repeating all the repeats of grocery shopping, I always repeat my prayer of appreciation.

And yes, I do it with feeling.

Perhaps repeating isn’t so bad after all.