I shop at 3 different grocery stores.

Each store has specific items that add to the beauty of life. Yesterday, I opened the dog food bin and noticed it was getting low. It was time to go to that specific store.

The parking lot was full. This parking lot is never full no matter what time of day you go. Walking toward the store, a woman was walking toward me headed to her car. She was wearing a hoodie, mask and goggles.

Seeing that was unsettling, yet sad.

You can guess what the inside of the store looked like. People standing in the cleaning aisle looking for disinfectant. Sorry darling but it’s all organic and earth friendly. No Lysol here. The water aisle was sparse, toilet paper gone, and one lady had a cart full of numerous gallons of milk.

This store doesn’t carry a lot of regular milk. I come here for oat milk. Most all of their milk is dairy free, so I’m pretty sure she cleaned out the milk shelf.

Looking at the shelves, most all the ‘normal’ items were gone, but that’s not the reason you come to this store.

You come here to replenish goodness.

There was no shortage of Picnik coffees! Which is rather odd because they do sell out. Especially when they’re on sale.

There was a crowd at the meat counter. I’ve never seen that before at this store.

There was a lady asking people where to find stuff on her list. She asked, “Where’s the butter?” I just smiled and pointed her in the direction of vegan butter. The only real butter they sell is hand rolled.

The last couple of weeks they’ve been sold out of one of my favorite teas. I was happy to see it back on the shelf. The frantic vibe of the store made is easy to ponder buying more than one, but that comes with a price.

Not only would it stretch my budget, but fear would creep in. I just bought one.

Then there were the lines at the checkout. On a regular day, there are no lines, but that day they were halfway through the store. I stood in line and began interacting with some ladies. That’s what we do at stores like this. We are regular shoppers and we talk about the goodness it offers.

Until a woman walks up to us and encourages us to stop talking and getting moving. We hadn’t noticed that our line had split two ways, but she had.

We said our farewells and checked out.

I saw a glimpse of good that day. People that normally don’t shop there did. The store didn’t encompass the level of serenity it normally does, but just maybe these people felt it when they walked in and took some home. They left with a little more peace along with some really good food.

Not only will they taste a difference, but my hope is they feel the difference.