The Supermarket:
Outings to the supermarket were definitely a good time. There was always a chance you could go on the merry go ‘round for 20c (which has now been replaced by some thomas the tank engine one that cost s whole $2! Talk about a ripoff) or the back of the shopping trolly, or the side, or the other side and sometimes on the very, very rare occasion which I almost don’t mention seeing as they were so rare but they were some of the most joyous times that I cannot help it - the times when we could ride in the trolly itself. Oh yes. This was when you knew you had made it. You had truly worked the manipulation magic and you could glory all the food items on your own moving throne. All the other kids would look on jealously (not really) and parents would look at you quite impressed by you skills (that’s what I like to think) and you would grin at your sisters and brother because they had lost and you had brilliantly just won. However this was only one of the perks of going to the supermarket with Mum, (Dad I don’t think would have the patience to take all of us to the store) the other was the game of seeing what you could sneak through the check out. Not as in stealing, I do not think my innocent mind ever thought of stuffing my pockets purposefully. So in would go the chocolate bars, marshmallows, cereal (they were such big boxes that is was always rare to get one of these through), pens and pencils, lifesavers and fruit tingles, tiny teddies and the glorious tim tams. You had to learn how to carefully cover them whilst in the trolly with the ham, bread and juice, so that Mum wouldn’t see them whilst casually throwing in another roll of toilet paper. Then came the very hard part, getting those little gold nuggets through the checkout. You would offer to help stack the things onto the conveyer belt, hiding them appropriately, waiting with abated breath while the check-out lady or gentleman would pick it up to scan, hoping that mum was looking the other way whilst he or she did so. And even then celebration had to be held off as your treat landed its way into the plastic bags because you still hadn’t been quite successful as there was always the chance that you forgot what bag it was in and when you were home and unpacking the groceries someone would find it and point it out to mum and you were done for. Either mum would hold your treat that you had worked so hard for hostage until you cleaned your room or something equally as mean and laborsome or she would be so exhausted from taking 4 or 5 kids to the store that you got it. So really, it was completely and utterly worth it because you always got your treat (or treats) in the end.
I asked mum as I was writing this if she noticed us putting things in the shopping cart pretty much every time and to my shock she said no.
“I would notice it every now and then and sometimes I even let it pass but most of the time I wouldn’t notice at all.”
Man, we were so good. We had skills I tell you. I wonder if that’s something I should mention in a job interview. I know I’d be impressed because it’d be not only finding a kindred spirit but someone who also has some great skills in sneakiness and manipulation. Okay…maybe not the best thing to mention in job interviews.
No comments:
Post a Comment