Blueberries Everywhere

A minor grocery shopping calamity became an opportunity – for the shopper and the employees around her. Boomer reader Darlene Edwards shares her story of blueberries scattering everywhere.

Our family LOVES blueberries, and our granddaughter especially enjoys them, popping them into her mouth like candy. We also have a blueberry muffin recipe she loves to make when she is at our house.

When I go to the store in search of blueberries, I look for the biggest berries available. I am often pleased with the ones that I find, and I proceed to check out.

On one shopping trip, I placed all my items on the conveyer belt and the large package of blueberries popped open. They went rolling everywhere: through my grocery basket, the checkout counter, to the floor, and to the shoppers behind me. The berries went down the aisle, and it seemed like there were hundreds of them!

The staff quickly stepped in to remedy the situation, stating they will get me more blueberries. They cleaned up the rollaways and helped me get the remaining groceries from my cart. The kind checkout staff member stated, “This happens all the time, no worries.” However, she offered a big smile too. The woman behind me in line that I was holding up due to my berry dilemma just smiled and didn’t demonstrate frustration. The grocery bagger returned with a new container of blueberries and let me see them to ensure I was pleased with his selection.

The staff thanked me for shopping, and my momentary frustration and embarrassment actually turn into smiles and a story I have now told multiple times.

The small things we encounter in life can seem painful, irritating, or joyous, depending on how we look at things. My shopping experience could have colored my day and others’ day, but it didn’t. I went home with my blueberries and told several folks about my experience.

Reframing our experiences in our minds and with our words can help create a more positive outlook for each of us. If the people around me had taken a different perspective on the runaway berries, it would have created a negative environment for all of us. I was already embarrassed, and they didn’t add to my negative feelings. Instead, they turned my perspective around and created a positive feeling towards everyone who surrounded me.

In our everyday lives, may we find more opportunities to change the small situations that could be negative into positive, memorable moments.

Here’s to more blueberries!

Also from Darlene Edwards: ‘More Peas, Please’

Darlene Edwards is married, has two adult daughters, a son-in law and two adorable grandchildren. Her career included nursing, communications, and hospital administration for a large teaching hospital.

Read more essays, childhood memories, and other contributions from Boomer readers in our From the Reader department.

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