Grocery Shopping at Home

 Years ago when I experienced agoraphobic at its strongest I dreaded grocery shopping.  But we needed food.  Hubby was working and I couldn't expect him to work and shop too.  So I'd force myself to go even though I never knew when I'd have a debilitating panic attack.   Forget standing in line!  Grocery shopping or any other shopping tired me out for days.  I wished I could buy groceries for a month and never have to step into the store for weeks.

Eventually with therapy and coping tools I learned I did get better, although I've never been one to enjoy going to malls and shops. 

Fast forward 55 years...  Hubby has been retired for many years and we grocery shop together.  I actually enjoy it now - or did until the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020 arrived.  We are up in years and have been advised to stay out of stores and stay home.   It's been nine months now.  For a while we shopped as early as possible after the store opened to avoid the crowds.  That's when they had special hours for older folks and those who's health has been compromised.   But the virus started spreading faster, more people were catching it and truthfully I didn't want to go anyplace. I'm not scared of dying but not of this virus.   So a friend, who had been shopping online for awhile, guided me how she does it.  At first the idea really didn't appeal to me because I like to see what I'm ordering. I didn't want someone else picking out my fresh fruits, meat and vegetables. Truth be told, I was really skeptical.

At first I tried a small pickup order after learning how to order online. That was the fun part ordering groceries on an app on my ipad.  We did the pick up and whoever did the shopping was very good.  The vegetables were nice and my order was just what I would have done myself.

After another pickup I discovered the store offered a 15 day trial for free delivery.   I read some posts by others who were not happy with their experiences, some local and others national so my skepticism spoke up again.  But some were really happy with it.

Surprise surprise, it was a wonderful experience!!!  I signed up for a year for free delivery at what I feel is a very reasonable price.  Now I'm hooked!  After we shopped we were both worn out for the rest of the day.  But with free delivery all we do is bring the groceries in, wipe them down and put them away.  I sit in my recliner and order our food and have it delivered.  What a joy.  I would have loved this 55 years ago.  After the pandemic is over I intend to continue to shop online and have our groceries delivered.  Sure I might go the store for some things like fresh cooked fried chicken. I'm really missing that.  

I just hope that being isolated for so long won't trigger more panic when we are safe to go back out.  If so, I do have more help than I did in the past.  

I belong to a wonderful Emotional Freedom Tapping group Thriving Now.   I've learned so much about emotional healing and freedom here.  I also use meditation.  The App Calm is good for calming with breathing and focusing on the now.   I belong to an agoraphobia group on Facebook where we help each other with understanding and not feeling so alone.