Thanksgiving Cheer

On the eve of this Thanksgiving, I found myself where no one really wants to be: standing in the checkout line at the grocery store. No, scratch that. It was really about 70 checkout lines at 8 grocery stores, to be exact.

Yes, today was spent touring half of my 15 Kroger stores to monitor the Check Out Hunger coupon placards that I put up two weeks ago. I visited the first half yesterday, and for some reason, I honestly believed it would be better to save half of my stores for today--the day before Thanksgiving. Much like the 1993 movie Groundhog Day, I had a bizarre sense of déjà vu all day. No matter my location, each Kroger visit went the same way: crawl through traffic, scan parking lot, park in the closest free space to the entrance (which was always a half mile away from the store).

Once inside, I stopped at the Customer Service desk to check in the with managers and make sure there weren't any problems. (And yes, we've had some problems.) Last week when I did my Kroger rounds, I discovered that the barcode on some of the green $3 coupons have not been scanning correctly. Apparently, the green barcodes are too sophisticated for the simple checkout scanners to read. To combat the issue, Kroger Advertising suggested making copies of the $3 coupons on white paper so the scanners could more easily read the barcode. So today, before I set out, Alex helped me make more than 140 laminated white copies of the $3 coupon to distribute to the cashiers. But not all of the cashiers--some stores haven't had any problems reading the green coupons' barcodes.

To put it simply, in addition to replacing any empty coupon pads, I had to reeducate some cashiers on the new procedure with the white paper coupons, all while fighting through the crowds of stressed out Thanksgiving chefs purchasing their last minute ingredients. My patience was stretching pretty thin, and by the time I visited my last Kroger store in Lebanon, I was relieved to program my GPS (General Paulette Surefire) for home.

I'm home now, patiently (okay, not so patiently) waiting for Taylor to get off work so we can make it to Urbana tonight for Thanksgiving dinner with my extended family tomorrow. I've been so busy and stressed out lately that the next 4 work-free days will provide some much needed clarity during this holiday weekend. Like many college-aged kids from cushy middle-class homes, I have always taken Thanksgiving for granted. I am embarrassed to admit that I have taken more time to cut a piece of pie than to really reflect on what this holiday is all about.

This year is different. After seeing and experiencing poverty for the first time, Taylor and I are so grateful for all of our friends and family who have enriched our lives by offering their support and love this year and always. I know that this year, for the first time, I will celebrate Thanksgiving with more than just a full stomach, but a full a heart, as well.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Stay tuned for a Holiday Food Drive round up on Friday.