August 29, 2020

Robert and I used to buy food in Stop and Shop Supermarket. We usually bought ten to twenty items and Robert ran them through the scanner at the self register. He used his ATM card to pay for the groceries. Scanning wasn’t a problem. He mastered that easily. However, he still needed encouragement to search for 4-5 number code on some of the vegetables or for a specific item among the pictures on the screens. He was getting slightly better using his alphabet skills to move the screens to the desired letters, but he still needed practice.  I do miss going to store with Robert and watching him learning to do cashier job.

I also miss Robert reminding me what we were supposed to buy. Before most of the trips to the grocery store, Robert made a shopping list. He put down a few things he considered important and let me add some other items.  However, I might forget the list, or there might be a product which we needed but not on the list.

There was time when Robert was adamant about NOT BUYING  food which was not on the list. Luckily, later, he understood that the lists are not perfect and needed to be supplemented by additional items. So, he not only let me buy something not previously written on the list, but he also placed in a shopping cart things which were not on the list, but were, nonetheless needed (like eggs).

Before COVID19 changed our shopping habits, Robert never wanted to buy things which we already had in the refrigerator. But when, starting in March, I tried to keep two week supply of food, Robert attitudes changed.

Maybe because he is not going shopping anymore, he puts more efforts into making  lists of needed products.  Moreover, he wants to have reserves of food.  He prepares the list usually in the late afternoon, knowing that I shop early in the morning during hours for people over 60.

One evening he made a list:

2 peach jello

2 strawberry jello

2 lemon jello

2 lime jello

2 eggplant

2 poblano (he meant two packets of poblano the way it has been sold in Walmart)

2 eggs (he corrected himself to write 12 when I asked him to choose between 2 and 12) Possibly, he meant 2 dozen, but I am not sure.

1 mozzarella cheese

2 Mexico ( Not sure if I understood, he brought me almost empty packet of shreded cheese and read “Four Cheese Mexican.

That was all.  Robert put the card on the kitchen table, took a bath, and went to bed.

We did too.

Around 2AM at night, extremely agitated Robert came into our bedroom screaming, “Ketchup. ketchup, ketchup, ketchup.”

It took me a while to understood the reason for his distress. Then I said, “OK, Write it on the list. ”

Robert calmed down, went to the kitchen, completed the list, and returned to his bed.