Love thy neighbor most of the time

but keep your hands off my doughnuts.



Yesterday I took the kids to Lunds, a local, slightly upscale grocery store. Not my usual haunt, but I had a good store coupon that I wanted to use.

Of course, in this child-indulging culture, the kids know the treats offered by every single store in the five state area. Lunds has free suckers at the check outs, but no free cookies like the other grocery store we usual shop at. Lunds does have some great bakery items and good breads. The kids didn't even ask for the sucker, but ran to the bakery case as soon as we came in the store.

It was hard to be a stern mom and tell them they couldn't have a doughnut when I was planning to get some myself. It is sometimes possible to sneak a doughnut when hubby is around to run interference with the kids, but it's too hard and too risky when it's just me.

Both kids made an unlikely pick, a Persian. Probably chosen because they had seen me eat one awhile back. They giddily skipped the usual favorite -- a cake doughnut covered with a pile of bright sprinkles and stood in front of the case jumping up and down pointing at the Persians.

After I got them their doughnuts, it was time to score my own favorites, chocolate covered French crullers. Yummmm.

There were two left. I took them both.

"Damnit," said the man standing behind me.

I slowly turned around to see a gruff older man (think Father Corapi look-alike sans collar), obviously not happy that I nabbed both of the doughnuts he wanted.

"I've been here nearly every day for the last three weeks and every time I get here, all the crullers are gone."

Weakly I said to him, "I'll give you ONE of mine."

"No, that's OK," he dejectedly said.

Although I felt guilty, I was relieved.

Then he scoured the rest of the bakery case looking for a particular danish as his back up plan.

"They don't even have any danish left!" he bellowed.

"It's just a BAD day," I told him as I tucked my precious crullers into my cart and sped off.

I wish him luck today and will say a prayer he is successful to ease my guilty conscience.