Why I Made Grocery Shopping a Family Affair

Even after I was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis I preferred to go grocery shopping by myself. As a stay at home mom, a trip to the grocery store was like an afternoon at the spa. It was my “me” time. I enjoyed leisurely walking up and down the aisles while sipping a cup of coffee. As my condition worsened, my ability to go shopping solo decreased. While I was thankful for the assistance my family provided, I resented having to need their help in the first place. It was during the period when I was unable to drive at all that made me realize that I needed to figure out how to make shopping an enjoyable experience once again.

Teamwork

I have learned to view shopping as a sport and my family as a team. We are competing with the store to find the best food options without going over budget. Like a sports team, when one member is knocked down another takes over. When my feet are aching or my back is in spasms the last thing I want to do is to cross the store to grab one item that I forgot. My teammates then spring into action, grab the item, and then meet me at the register. Sometimes I break my list up into sections and assign it to my team. This not only gets us out of the store faster it also decreases how much pain I experience later in the evening.

On the same page

In the past, I despised having my husband and children accompany me to the store because they were always asking for items that weren’t on my list or distract me with conversation. Now that we shop as a team, it is understood that our time in the store is time to be focused on the task at hand and nothing else. Instead of having conversations while shopping, we use the time traveling to and from the store to catch up and discuss family matters. To stay focused while shopping, I sit down with my team beforehand and ask what they would like on the list. This has greatly reduced how many times I am asked for something while shopping. Even better is that now that the whole family is included, we are all on the same page when it comes to what types of food we will be eating. In addition, my daughter has learned from a young age how to comparison shop and to know when the cheapest isn’t always the best. We even compete with each other to see who can find the best deal! Teamwork makes living with a chronic illness better not just me, but for my whole family.