An Ideal Job, Indeed

All kinds of good things come from my kids working at Ideal Grocery store.  And a few bad ones, too.  But even they are kind of good, too, in a storytelling sort of way.

Like the woman who handed Allison a bag of goodies--three pretzels, two peanuts and an M & M, to be exact--and then belittled my daughter when she couldn't get the booty to weigh in on the scale.   She did not hesitate to give Allison her two cents' worth--literally, since that's how much the concoction cost her.

Or the woman who yelled at Allison when she put in the wrong code for juice oranges (who in the heck buys juice oranges anyway?).  After Allison went through--and deducted--the price of every flipping kind of orange until she found the right one, the woman then got downright helpful.  "These are BA-NA-NAS.  And these are GREEN GRAPES."

Both kids (and a slew of customers, as well) know to look for John, the short man who wears the Burger King crown, who shops on Saturday mornings.  And Allison secretly hopes he won't have underwear on his head, too, something else he's been known to don.

Now that she works at Ideal, Allison will grab an apple from the fridge and say "This is a really good #4201," speaking in CPU codes that are a mystery to me. 

And both kids now realize just how naked a person is when he or she shops.  Given that Ideal is no Russ's B & R, though, I don't think either one has witnessed actual nudity.  Still,  our  grocery carts tell a thousand stories we would not otherwise offer up freely.  I may try to bury those Brach's peanut-caramel clusters underneath a bag of carrots, but, come Judgement Day (i.e., ring-up time), it's pretty obvious what's what.  Candy AND kettle chips?  For shame!

Thanks to Ideal, Eric and Allison now know how to manage money--their own and others'.  They each can pack a mean, well-balanced bag of groceries, make small talk with strangers, and learn to take in stride the crabs and kooks that come through those doors. 

Oh, and they are perfecting their storytelling skills, too, one memorable customer at a time.  I, for one, am always excited when their bikes pull in the drive after a long and fruitful day at the neighborhood grocery store, because I know a good story is in store.