Grocery store trip takes on new meaning

Last night I went to the grocery store. During the preCOVID-19 days, that would not have been a big deal. But last night, as I armed myself with gloves and hand sanitizer before leaving the house, the mission felt much more intense than a regular afternoon errand, or a stop on the way home from work.

Truth be told, before the coronavirus pandemic hit our state, I had not been to a grocery store in months. I used Instacart, a grocery delivery service. The service made my life so much easier as a working mom of a toddler and a baby. I didn’t have to load them up and snap them into their car seats and then reload them once our shopping was done. I could do all of the shopping from my laptop or cellphone and the groceries would show up at my doorstep within two hours.

I went shopping on Instacart last night, but the application said my groceries wouldn’t arrive until Wednesday, six days after I placed my order. I debated in my mind whether I should take the trip to the grocery store. Was the trip worth the risk of catching the virus? But then I also considered the little mouths that I needed to feed, and their incredible abilities to snack what seems like hundreds of times a day. I also asked myself what if we had already come in contact with the virus two weeks ago, when we were still living our normal lives? Were we prepared to deal with whatever germs might come into our homes and what symptoms could overtake our bodies? We at least needed proper nourishment and supplements to maintain healthy immune systems.

I decided to brave the local produce market and Whole Foods Market in Milford.

I got dressed in long pants and long sleeves, covering as much skin as possible, to minimize the point of contacts for any germs. I put a small bottle of hand sanitizer in my jacket pocket, grabbed two pairs of blue disposable gloves, and kissed my little ones goodbye as if I was heading off for war.

Once I arrived at the produce store, I put the disposable gloves on, strategically put my cell phone in my back pocket and my car keys in my right pocket. I decided that I would not go into my pockets until I took the gloves off and sanitized my hands.

I dashed through the aisles and threw fruits in vegetables like I was on the game show Supermarket Sweep trying to win a cash prize. I looked at people crossly who came within 6 feet of me, the recommended measurement for social distancing, and I scurried away from them.

When I got to the register, I placed all of my items on the check-out counter. I observed the cashier, who was also wearing plastic gloves like mine. I was surprised that he wasn’t wearing a mask like I had seen some other people doing. Perhaps I was being overly cautious. After all, if he was comfortable not wearing a mask even though he came in contact with dozens of shoppers, perhaps I could relax a bit.

I took off my gloves to reach for my cellphone, so I could use the mobile application to pay for my groceries. And then I was stuck. I didn’t want the germs that may have accumulated on my gloves to touch my cellphone. I also didn’t want to put dirty gloves back on my hands to touch the buttons on the payment keypad. I shrugged.

I touched the keypad with my bare hands. Touched the grocery bags with bare hands to put them in my carriage. Then placed the “clean” side of the gloves on top of the carriage handle and then pushed the cart out of the store. I put the grocery bags in the car ... again with bare hands. I shook my head at myself. All of that preparation seemed to be a waste. I put hand sanitizer on my hands, and then got in the car and drove to my second stop, Whole Foods.

I decided that I was not going to wear gloves this time. I planned to wipe down the carriage with the sanitizing wipes they offer in the front of the store. When I arrived, a grocery store worker told me I had to wait in a line to be let into the store. They were only allowing 40 customers in the store at a time, he said. I felt good about that policy, even though I had to wait outside for a few minutes. I shopped swiftly again, but I felt more at ease. I sanitized my hands again before getting in the car and drove home on the deserted streets and back to my home, where I immediately took off my shoes, removed my outer layers of clothing, and washed my hands.

I’m not sure that I did everything right, but I left both stores feeling extremely appreciative of the grocery store workers who have been showing up at work and coming in contact with our germs every day to make sure that we have some place to pick up our “essential” items.

Associated Press A worker unloads food products from a truck outside a market early in the morning on Friday.