It's What's for Dinner

Day 195

I was at the grocery store early this morning getting the ingredients for crock pot beef stew so I could get it put together and let stew, so to speak, all day. As I hovered around the beef section, I was feeling a bit lost as I always do in that part of the store. We eat red meat only occasionally, so I am never confident about how to buy it. As I stood there, my confusion was apparently obvious because an older woman (probably in her mid 70's or so) asked me what I was looking for. I told her what I was making and she immediately started showing me what cuts are good for crock pot cooking and explaining why. I am excluding details here because thinking too much about these particulars is why I rarely eat red meat.

She took what I had in my hand and pointed out a different selection that was on sale and, in her opinion, would be just as good at half the price. Realizing that I was in the company of someone far more knowledgeable than I on the subject, I immediately put down what I had and grabbed a package of what she recommended..

Satisfied that she had helped me find just the right choice she was off with her cart, exclaiming as she left “If your family doesn't like it, you can blame it on the nosy lady in the store.”

So today's act of kindness was really that a stranger was kind to me. But it really did feel more natural chatting in the beef aisle with someone I didn't know than I think it would have before I started this project. The world is starting to seem a little smaller and a little friendlier. And as an added bonus, the stew was delicious.