Gratitude, with a side of grapes

This morning I woke up determined to turn over a new leaf and get chores and exercise out of the way early.

I’d loaded the dishwasher and washing machine and was about to head out when I checked Facebook and saw one of those “daily gratitude” posts that people do this time of year. Normally I ignore those, but today I was fresh off a morning meditation session and let my friend know I appreciate and share her sentiment.

Then I left the building with my grocery list and credit card in my backpack … and that’s when things began to go wrong.

My phone’s GPS app directed me along an unfamiliar route to Jewel Osco. Instead of the one-mile jog promised, I ended up heading in one wrong direction after another, recrossing some of the same streets more than once and stopping repeatedly to recalibrate my route, turning the trip into triple the distance. (I should note here that I could have just schlepped to the pricier Whole Foods a few blocks from home, but where’s the challenge in that?)

When I got to the store, I reached into my backpack, took out my credit card and fished around for my face mask—they’re required in indoor public spaces in my state. It wasn’t in the big pouch, or the three smaller areas in front, or my pockets. So I made do with the wraparound ear warmers I’d taken off during the run.

I grabbed a basket and quickly got down to business: grapes, salad and, after finding that my cereal of choice was way overpriced, laundry stain remover.

I was almost to the checkout when it hit me: My credit card was gone. In a panic, I went back to the produce section to see if I’d dropped the card among the bagged grapes. A store employee nearby suggested I go to Customer Service.

As I waited at the desk, I gave myself and my shopping basket another look. I was almost in tears when the Customer Service rep arrived. “I just lost my credit card,” I told him. “Has anyone turned one in?”

To my enormous relief, he told me someone had found a card outside on the sidewalk. He asked my name and handed me my card.

Now I’m home and writing a blog post for the first time in weeks. I’m grateful for all the nice people in the world. And those grapes? Sweet.