Everyone needs to eat. As eating out isn’t often the best choice, if you’re concerned about your wallet and your health, once in awhile, a single gal needs to go get groceries.

I was suffering from single-gal fridge the other day. There were odds and ends and lots of condiments, but nothing that would make a meal. I was hungry. I would have to venture to the store and break rule number one.

Rule #1: Never go to the store hungry.

Too late! I’ll be damned if I break rule number 2, unless I’m ill.

Rule #2: Don’t look like crap when going anywhere, even if it’s just a quick trip to the store.

If I do break rule #2, inevitably, I will run into that ex that I don’t want to see with his stunning new girlfriend. Hence, I don’t go to the store in my grubbies.

Honestly, there is a more important reason I don’t break rule #2 very often. Going to the grocery store can be a very trying experience. It is busy, people are pushing around carts willy nilly and people are always in the way. It always helps me to go into situations knowing that I look good. I feel stronger and more confident. This applies to everything in my life.

The main problem I have with going to the store is seeing all the couples who grocery shop together. They are holding hands, they are whispering about their next romantic meal, they are busy being a couple. I don’t have that and I miss it sometimes. The more I miss it, the more I notice these happy couples being, well, happy! When I’m feeling down about being single, the more often I notice a man carrying flowers. When I’m carrying flowers, they are for me and no one assumes I’m buying them for some guy. When a man is carrying flowers, I always jump to the conclusion that he’s buying them for his girlfriend/wife. He could be in trouble. He could be romantic. It could be her birthday.

The best way to get through the constant reminders that you aren’t in the land of coupledom, the reminder that you are your only team member, is to realize that you don’t have to put up with his shit. You can eat a healthy, well balanced meal or you can eat a bag of chips and a carton of ice cream for dinner. You can always choose your favorite foods. You can choose the movie. You can choose the music.

And when I’m carrying flowers, I’m not in trouble.

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