The best thing about our new neighborhood so far is this: I am now, after a decade of living in the country, only fifteen minutes away from my local Trader Joe’s grocery store.
I love Trader Joe’s. I fell in love with it in college, and I remained loyal and infatuated throughout my early twenties. I love their food, I love their snacks. I love how cozy and small the store is.
And I love love love how friendly the customers and the staff are. I have a friend who worked at Trader Joe’s for a long time and loved it, so I have a theory that the employees are super happy because they are well-treated AND because, just maybe, they love Trader Joe’s as much as I do. And the customers – well, they’re happy because they’re stocking up on amazing food and snacks at a store that’s yummier, smaller, and less crowded than other grocery stores.
The first Saturday we woke up at our new house, it was raining and I was solo with the boys, and hungry. So I packed them into the car and drove – only fifteen minutes! Then I put Jonas in the Ergo, Edgar in the grocery cart, and began the process of covering Edgar with Trader Joe’s groceries. It was 8 a.m., so I thought the store might be empty, but it wasn’t. There were about a dozen customers, and every single one of them smiled and said hello to me. A few of them stopped to chat and to make funny faces at Jonas. Edgar chose raspberries for his in-store snack and every time Jonas said, “More,” Edgar would sweetly say, “Here you go, Jo Jo,” and put a raspberry in his mouth.
It was magic.
This move has been a big change. So far, I’m enjoying it, but I’ve been nervous about such a major change to our lifestyle. But that day, at our neighborhood Trader Joe’s, I felt extremely positive about our move. Because I met friendly neighbors with a common interest and also because Trader Joe’s has the BEST SNACKS IN THE WORLD. It felt like a little sign – a happy moment the will precede lots of happy moments to come.
