Saturday, November 5, 2011

All Becuase of Tomatoes


Depressing trip to the grocery store today. I was pacing the produce aisles and glazing at the tomatoes. I've always bought tomatoes that are organic and/or ripened on the vine. They aren't supposed to use a certain ethalayne gas (the gassing process is really gross, stripping out all natural flavor or tenderness in a tomato...of coarse everyone knows they're picked green and the gas is what turns them red and hard as a rock, right?). Well, on weeks where our budget is tighter than others, I'll just buy the "ripened on the vine" tomatoes. Well, today I noticed that the sign above the tomatoes said "tomatoes ON the vine". I was perplexed. I grabbed the produce guy next to me who was stacking carrots in the fridge and asked him why the sign changed. He told me that the tomatoes weren't gassed, but were ripened on the vine. I asked him, "Then why did the sign change?" The manager who had been lurking our way immediately jumped in on our conversation and replied with a "everything is gassed now" comment. I asked if there were any choices of tomatoes without the ethalayne gas and he said "organic" which was a bit pricy. {sigh}

So, what's a girl to do? All I wanted were some juicy, delicious, red tomatoes for my salad for lunch today, but I'll settle for the pink, hard, tastless rocks (harsh, I know) before me.

Do things ever just urke you to where you want to do something about it, but wonder what kind of impact you'll have as "JUST a stay-at-home-mom"? Of coase, we all know that our jobs as mothers are SOOOO much more important than the world visualizes us to be. After all, we are shaping tomorrow's youth for the future!!!

I get urked though and today it didn't stop with tomatoes. For example, there was an opprotunity where a man next to me in the parking lot could have been a gentleman, but wasn't. I get urked when so many feminists have fought for women's rights (don't get me wrong, I'm glad to have the freedoms to drive a car when I want and vote), but there have been times in my life (sometimes, when I'm very much pregnant!) and am struggling with a heavy package or something and the man standing next to me can't give me a hand. Maybe he's thinking, "Hmm, I don't want to assume this woman is in distress and needs a man's help. Don't want to offend her that she can't do the job." All-the-while I'm screaming inside my head, "Yes! Please! I'm about to drop this. Never mind the three little ones in my car that need my attention. Can you help a lady out?"

Or of coarse there's the ever-so-popular door opening scenerio where a lady would LOVE the door opened for her, but the guy doesn't want to offend her by opening the door for her. Or better yet, the young lad hasn't been taught proper manners to think of others by being a gentleman and helping the girl out.

I'm not trying to put on a whine fest. Just stating the obvious. It urkes me that I get "beeped" when I'm walking out of a grocery store as if I'm being counted as a number for a customer who shopped there that day. It urkes me that there are cameras everywhere now and you're always being watched. It urkes me that those cameras can actually give you a speeding ticket (not that I've every gotten one...I haven't, really) as well. It urkes me that America (and the world, for that matter) is so uneducated about food (not that it's entirely their fault either) and where it comes from that we just believe what The Food and Drug Administration says and don't think for ourselves. Thinking for ourselves. Now that's a concept!!! We don't do it anymore. We ship our kids off to a public school building to total strangers and trust that they know what's best for them and that they will give them this grand education which trains them to love and serve the Lord. It urkes me that my pediatrician gives me a blank stare when I say, "No, we're not going to get that vaccination today" as if I'm a weirdo that has no clue what she's doing as a mother. The phrase "you've got your hands full" is getting so old I could scream at every little old lady we pass by in the store. I know I have my hands full...full of sweet blessings that yes,need training when they're being selfish, rude or inconsiderate, but that's how we all are, right? Sinners. I'm doing my best to train it out of the sweet little ones, but your comments aren't helping! Try, "My, what a beautiful family you have."

And all this because of a few tomatoes. {sigh} What's a girl to do? :)



1 comment:

Rachel E. said...

My, what a beautiful family of blessings you have.

I totally agree with you on all points.