Zoom Zoom

March 4, 2023

Earlier today, I took my loved one to Walmart. Initially, we were going to the grocery store, but I had asked if we could make a quick stop at Walmart. (Two hours is not quick, btw. And we never made it to the grocery store.) Anyway, I had convinced them to use one of those motorized scooters to shop, since Walmart is huge. HUGE for someone who has difficulty walking and fatigues quickly anymore. Normally, I am in and out of that store as quickly as possible, if I even choose to go there. However, there are few choices for shopping for toys for my children in my area, let alone anything decently priced or on clearance and affordable.

Well, I lost my loved one. In Walmart. For about five minutes. We had made it to the middle of the store, after working our way from the right side of the store, where they had wanted to look at storage options for a closet. Reasonable? Yes, definitely. I was browsing and giving space. I took note of which direction they went when they left the aisle we had been in together and continued with my browsing to give more space. A few moments go by, and I look up to see their scooter zooming past the aisle very quickly, the fastest I have seen them move in years. It was humorous. I thought they were going back to something they wanted in a different, nearby, aisle.

After a few more moments, I start looking through the aisles in that direction. Do I find them? Nope. I go back to where we had started when we separated. I also do not find them there. I go a bit further and still do not find them in any of those aisles. So I went to the middle of that larger walking area and patiently wait between the toy section and the storage section in my local Walmart and try to not be in anyone's way. About five minutes later, my loved one comes zooming back from the far side of the store.

"I lost you!"

There is not much I can say. They thought they lost me when I had been in the same aisle and section the entire time. I cannot blame them for getting distracted while browsing. And it was entertaining to see them speed past me on the scooter and speed back to me later. Some things just need to be dropped in the moment but kept a record of, such as believing someone is in a completely different side of the store and not in the original aisle you left them in. In my case, staying put and not walking all over the store helped them find me. They were moving far too fast for me to find them.

Some days are like this. Find the humor in those days. We both thought the situation was comical, so enjoy the times that are good.

In case you are wondering, yes, my loved one was able to get all of the groceries and necessities, along with some non-necessities, on the list during our trip to Walmart. They hadn't gone to Walmart in over a year, not because it was too far or anything, but primarily because of how BIG the store is.

It is just a lot of walking for someone who fatigues quickly and is usually in a constant state of pain. For instance, we visited the grocery section before getting in line to check out. The last thing we browsed were prepared fresh soups. The lines were long enough (the store was crazy busy!) that my loved one changed their mind and wanted more soup. They decided to leave the scooter with me and walk back to the grocery section to retrieve another container of soup. I asked if they would use their cane, but it had gotten buried in the cart. They did not want to lose their place in line, and they seemed determined to walk. They were certain that they could use the middle displays for support to go get another container of soup, even though I made it clear that it was not a short walk back to to the grocery section, let alone the walk back. We were in line at an actual manned register near the entrance we used, not near the groceries. They reassured me that they would be fine, so I did not disagree because they can still decide what they can and cannot handle in this regard. Well, my loved one turned around about half-way there and came back. They said it was too far to walk.

We usually stick to smaller stores for that reason, but it is fun to browse the larger stores periodically and see what is new.

Having days where we can mostly feel how our dynamic once was are nice, and I don't know how many of these days are left for us. Take the time to laugh and enjoy the comedy of the funny things, enjoy the company on their good days, and count your lucky stars that you have days like these.