It has been a long time since I have discussed the bane of my existence, also known as the Buddy Buck. If y’all weren’t reading my blog back then (and chances are good, since I had about 3 readers then compared to about 12 now), you can find past experiences with the Buddy Buck detailed here and here.
The thing about having a child is that even though I am not cooking any part of Thanksgiving Dinner (except for Chocolate Ice Box pudding which is a requirement for P to enjoy the holiday) I still had to go to the grocery store today to get the essentials of our household such as chicken nuggets.
Prior to Caroline’s birth, I would have emptied my pantry of all canned goods and served P and I a dinner made with a box of mac and cheese circa 1997 before I would have gone to the grocery store the week of Thanksgiving.
H.E.B. is stressful enough without all the people milling around, fighting for the last can of pumpkin or cranberries. Add in a racecar cart and a toddler and you’ve got yourself a recipe for stress.
As we’re cruising the aisles in our monstrous racecar cart, we spy Dwayne the friendly manager who knows us well seeing as how I’m following in the tradition of my Mema and Papa and go to the store almost every day. Dwayne gives Caroline a high five and hands her 3 Buddy Bucks.
She is beyond gleeful.
After waiting in an excruciatingly long line to pay for our groceries, we head towards the Buddy Buck machine. Now, don’t judge me, but sometimes I tell Caroline it isn’t working so that we can get the heck out of Dodge. That was my master plan for today.
But oh, the humanity. There were kids already playing with the Buddy Buck machine and a long line of others waiting their turn.
So, we get in line. I realize that I am a pushover, but I’m hoping that someday she’ll remember that her mama let her play the Buddy Buck machine and tell her therapist about it.
I don’t want to tell y’all how long we waited in line, but let’s just say that Dwayne must have been showering people with Buddy Bucks like it was manna from heaven. In fact, at one point Dwayne caught my eye and said “Do y’all want some more?” and laughed. See, it’s all just a game to him because it’s not his frozen goods and patience that are melting away.
People were walking by wondering what they were missing out on because “Wow! Look at all the people in line!”
Yes, get in line so that you too can have a plastic bubble with a number sticker inside. It’s totally worth it.
After we had secured our 3 plastic bubbles and our milk had soured from sitting in the cart so long, we headed out to the parking lot. As I lifted Caroline into her carseat, she stopped and hugged me so tight while she said “Thank you, Mama!”
See. It’s totally worth it.