Groceries

I love to people watch. I really wish being a mom allowed more time for it. But unfortunately, any time sans kids is set aside for a much needed date night, hair appointment or gynecological exam, and not much time allotted for people watching.

Any time I'm at a doctor appointment I try to people watch, but everyone is seated, all kind of looking around or reading. And any conversations are whispered.
Every now and then you'll get the people afflicted with voice immodulation syndrome and an interesting story, but it's pretty rare.

People watching at the BX is pointless, because it's the same stereotypical 10 people every time. Single enlisted guy, stay at home mom with three kids hanging off the side of the buggy, old person wandering around checking the prices, all the while ticking their tongue about how things used to be cheaper when THEY were in the Air Force. There's also the group of 4 emo high school students who live on base and have nothing to do after school.
You know the ones. They're all somehow wearing ipod earphones, and simultaneously having a conversation while their dyed black hair hangs in their face, their tight jeans or leggings are bunching around their lack of a rear end and their purple and blue eyeliner reflects the fluorescent light of the store right into your cornea. There's not quite as many of these here at Edwards, but Osan was CRAWLING with them. Emo wasn't cool when I was in high school, so I'm not really sure what the deal is there...but I'm sure it's just as painful for their parents to watch as it was for my mom to buy $75 GIRL Jncos.

There is one place that I do get a quick chance to size up people in a relatively short amount of time...the commissary.
(Or well, the grocery store to your normal folk)

I love to see what other people buy to eat, I think it's a very intimate thing, and you can tell a lot about a person or family by what's placed in their buggy.

Is it a single 2 striper with just a hand carried basket full of Healthy Choice, Gatorade and a 3 lb bag of gummy worms?

What do you expect a single Major to put into his buggy? Probably something a little more nutritious than the airman, but if you look close I bet they have those slim jims hiding under those bags of produce and lunch meat.

How about that mom of 6 in the next aisle? Is is big boxes of Rice-a-roni and Mac N Cheese? Or that mama of 4 boys with more than half of her buggy filled with 2% milk?

There's usually the old couple and their buggy full of batteries, cat litter and diet rite. And behind them is the couple with no kids, just from the gym with their cart full of produce, whey protein, eggs and a bag of tortilla chips.

But if you look really close, those people will all have a little 'something' in there you wouldn't have expected. I love to find that 'treasure' when watching them unload their groceries!

If you think about it, it's kind of like they let a fart out and thought no one heard it, but YOU WERE TOTALLY STANDING RIGHT THERE.