No Cart Left Behind

Yesterday afternoon I was on campus meeting with our two other staff women. After our meeting I ran to the grocery store to pick up a bunch of food I needed for our staff dinner tonight. All was going well until I wheeled my grocery cart out to the car to find that I had locked my keys in the car. Uggghhh. Not only didn't I have my keys, but I also didn't have my cell phone so I pushed my cart back into the store to borrow their phone.

I fully expected Joe to answer- after all he was home with Lily for the afternoon. Just my luck though- no answer. By the end of my very pathetic message to Joe I was starting to get a little teary (being completly unsure of how I was going to get myself or all the food home). The nice lady at the customer service counter asked if there was anyone else I wanted to call. As I racked my brain I new right away that there are only 3 other local numbers I have memorized (and that none of those people would be home).

I then began to remember that just the day before Joe got a flat tire on his bike while he was at the YMCA (which is in the same shopping plaze as the grocery store) and he just walked home with his bike. So, without totally thinking it through I decided that I would just start walking home with my cart full of groceries (we live about 2 miles from the grocery store). I guess in the back of my mind I really thought that Joe would hear my message and come to rescue me at any moment.

So I started walking- fully aware that I looked totally crazy to the people driving by on the very busy street (many of them were staring at me). And only after I was too far along to really turn back did I realize that this wasn't such a great idea. Pushing a full grocery cart uphill (literally up a hill) on a terribly beaten up Maine sidewalk was a lot harder than I imagined it would be (the cart also got stuck in the mud twice). And that's when I began to wonder why I didn't just leave my groceries as the store, walk home by myself, and return later for my car and my food. But again- by the time I thought this it was too late.

It was about the same time that I suddenly realized that Lily's carseat was in my car (at the grocery store)- and that even if Joe heard my message he wouldn't be able to come get me. So I really began praying that the Lord might let someone I know see me and stop to give me a ride. Right about then I saw a police officer and I thought for sure he would pull over- if for no other reason than it looked like I was stealing a grocery cart. Nope- he just kept going (Joe said he probably just didn't want to deal with the crazy lady pushing the cart)!

But just as I crested the top of the pretty long hill our friend John drove by in his truck. Did he see me? Yes! Did he stop? No. Why? Because he thought I was exercising!! After a few blocks though he realized that I was wearing dress pants and thus probably not exercising- so thankfully he turned around and came back for me! And really it worked out perfect since I'm not sure what I would have done with the grocery cart itself had I been offered a ride by someone without a truck! So I got a ride the rest of the way home (I was a little less than half way there). As you might imagine Joe was quite amused when I came home bearing not only groceries but the cart as well (which we later returned to the store)!

Let's just say that when I went to the store today I double checked to make sure I had my keys!