News location:

Canberra Today 21°/24° | Tuesday, March 19, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Dorin / True confessions of a trolley man

MEN, it seems, are becoming a more common sight in supermarket aisles, busy checking things off their list.

dads-domestic-wheelbarrow-the-trolleyI’m one of those guys with an increasingly bigger role at home and decided to give myself the title of Chief Grocery Shopper.

Chief Grocery Shoppers need always to have a list because it definitely cuts down on the impulse buying.

When we get the opportunity, minus the kids, my wife and l enjoy grocery shopping together. Her list can be a mile long and I have noticed her shopping trolley looks very different to mine. She buys all those essential cleaning products and likes to read the labels. Grocery shopping feels like being in a bookstore with her.

Then there’s shopping with toddlers. Forget asking for a price check, when you take a toddler shopping you probably need to be asking for a reality check!

Being buckled into the trolley’s uncomfortable metal seat, unable to move very much and surrounded by food that can’t be reached, even I’d be bored and grumpy.

Then there’s arriving at the checkout and finding all those unwanted items the little critter has grabbed along the way.

As the kids have become a little older, supermarket shopping is less of an ordeal for them – and me.

I’ve found engaging the kids makes things a little more fun. Before setting out, we sit down and go through the supermarket brochure and circle a few items we need and that becomes their job to find those items as we journey up and down the aisles. It makes the time go faster – except for the toys aisle.

What really tests me is the self-service checkout and the octopus of eager young hands keen to help swipe things past the barcode scanner.

I get paranoid listening out for the beeps, trying to limit the times an item gets scanned and constantly annoying the shop assistant asking for items to be removed.

And the moment l hate most usually comes with a half-full trolley and the little voice from around my knees announces: “I need the toilet!”.

I have a couple of supermarket strategies; zoom down the lolly aisle reminding the kids of their recent visit to the dentist and l never go in just to purchase just one item, l have a bad habit of walking out with my arms loaded. Now, where’s my list?

Who can be trusted?

In a world of spin and confusion, there’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in Canberra.

If you trust our work online and want to enforce the power of independent voices, I invite you to make a small contribution.

Every dollar of support is invested back into our journalism to help keep citynews.com.au strong and free.

Become a supporter

Thank you,

Ian Meikle, editor

Share this

Leave a Reply

Related Posts

Opinion

Cartoon / Dose of Dorin

As the US teeters on a TikTok ban, the Australian government is having none of it. But cartoonist PAUL DORIN still wonders if anyone's watching...

Opinion

Heroin’s a big hit in Canberra’s wastewater

"Canberra is described as the exception regarding heroin use. The report shows a significant increase between July and September. In this period, on a per capita basis, Canberrans had the highest use in Australia," writes MICHAEL MOORE. 

Follow us on Instagram @canberracitynews