Rage is sort of a scary word, in my humble opinion. But, when linked with  the word "road," it becomes less threatening. What about when it's paired with grocery stores and parking lots? Am I the only one who gets testy when I find myself in one of these situations? 

You know the scene. You're rushing into the grocery store to grab some fresh flowers and fresh veggies to spruce up the house and get dinner going before your hubby comes home after being away all weekend, and you get caught behind every slow person in your county?

This was exactly what happened to me yesterday afternoon. I will admit it, I had spent a good portion of the day lazying around and getting some cleaning done (read: getting my DVR up-to-date), and it was 3PM before I knew it. A quick trip to the grocery store was warranted, you know, so we'd have something to eat for dinner that night other than pasta. I drove the 1.5 miles from our place to the nearest local grocer, grabbed my "mini" shopping cart, and took off, determined for this to be an easy 5-7 minute stop. Right.

Now, before you go telling me that I'm crazy for thinking I could be in and out of the grocery store in 5 minutes on a Sunday, keep in mind that I'm quick and can be sneaky in the aisles. You know, sort of like a slow motion car chase scene out of a movie? 

So, I grab my flowers, a bundle of asparagus and the items I need to whip up two batches of my famous penne vodka for this sweet little guy's baptism this weekend, and head for the nearest empty self-checkout line. En route to the self-check, I encounter not one, but two women standing idly in the middle of aisles (albeit blocking my soon-to-be-empty self-check) texting on their cell phones. I would cut them some slack if they had with them say, children? A grocery list? A cart or basket for said groceries? But no, they're just standing there to ... annoy me text their friends about what the scene at Giant looks like today? So, I politely ask them to excuse me (while muttering something frustrated sounding under my breath) and make my way towards the checkout.

Have any of you used self-check? Normally, I love it. It's basically the only way I grocery shop anymore, but it can have it drawbacks. Like when the conveyor belt gets too clogged up, or when it decides to stop working completely and tells me to "find the nearest customer service representative for help." Some days? They have friendly staff members waiting around the self-check area to help you bag your groceries. Awesome. Other days, like yesterday? No one in sight. So, I leave my full conveyor belt to find someone to "unclog" it. It takes a few minutes to find a body that is both willing and able to help me out, so you can believe that I got out of there as quickly as possible to avoid causing some sort of scene. 

The moral of the story? I should never just "drop in" to the local grocer on a Sunday afternoon for any reason. And, maybe I should consider starting a support group for fellow "grocery store ragers" like me.