Act 2; Scene 54: Shopping Cart Hypocrite

One of my biggest, hairiest pet peeves is about shopping carts.

You know how when you go to the grocery store, and you're driving around trying to find a good place to park amidst the hundreds of other parked shoppers, and just when you find a great spot and you turn the car to park it and wham--there's a shopping cart in the middle of the spot right in your way?

So then of course you get made and drive to another open spot (seemingly open, that is) only to find another used cart parked right in the middle of the yellow parking lines.

Really, it's not until the 3rd or 4th try that you can actually find a spot that isn't taken up by someone's used shopping cart. 

The other day, there was a parking spot open right next to the stalls where you are supposed to deposit your carts after shopping. May I repeat--right next to. And guess what was in that parking spot?

Yup.

And then on the way into the store, myriads of dejected and deserted shopping carts are strewn all over the parking lot and store front in various areas. I always take a few back to the stalls on my way in and out cursing under my breath the whole time (not real curses, no worries).

This makes me so mad. Really, what is that hard about simply taking your cart a couple of extra feet or yards to the shopping cart stalls? Do we really have to be that lazy? Is it too much to ask to walk that far? Do you need an app so that your iphone can take it back for you?

A few days before I had Thomas (so I was 9 months pregnant) I was out in the parking lot putting carts into the stalls so that I could park, and frankly because it was annoying me. And I thought, So this is what it comes to? Leaving your cart for a 9 month pregnant lady to put away for you in the blazing sun?

Well folks...I have a horrible confession. I am now a shopping cart hypocrite.

Yesterday I made an outing with the baby, to a store I will leave unnamed (which store has aggravatingly small carts so that I couldn't fit the baby carrier inside one...). I had purchased a few things and the cart was overflowing due to the awkward shape of one of the purchases. I unloaded my things into the car, hauled the heavier than heavy (how will I manage it when Tommy's even heavier?!??!) baby carrier into its car seat position, and then looked at my empty cart. 

Hmmm. 

No cart stalls in sight for the abnormally small cart. I looked at the cart, and looked in the back seat at my baby. I then carefully placed the cart at the curb next to the parking spot in the most out-of-the-way position I could manage, got in the car, and drove home. 

To my chagrin. But really, what exactly was I supposed to do? Total hypocrisy, I thought. I have a little more sympathy for people leaving carts everywhere, because they probably have like 5 kids in tow. 

But I still don't think all of those carts left in parking stalls are due to new mothers.