Working

Monday, December 06, 2021 (December’s fullest moon [“Cold Moon”] rises on the 18th.)

A day off at last, after three straight working days. Not ordinary days, with Christmas coming and buyers worried about gift-stocks diminishing. At “my store”, running a cash register is beoming straight-on busy. Many evenings I must help to close the store and arrive home in darkness. Although I’m tired, more work’s ahead to care for waiting pets.

Speaking of pets I like my job in a feed and hardware store. Customers generally love their dogs, cats, horses, and reptiles. In moments of checking out, folks talk about their pets, what types they have and tell brief vignettes. Sometimes I speak about mine but mostly stay listening. Folks enjoy speaking of loves that aren’t overly challenging.

Customers buying hardware, at-work types wearing splattered clothing, speak quickly of their projects, and often explain a detail or two. Yesterday, someone told me how to build a goat feeder that can reduce hay wastage. (Goats are notorious for dropping hay, letting it mold on the ground.) While pitching hay waste, I groan about money waste. Hay’s in shorter supply now because of water shortages, has become incredibly expensive.

The same goes for all sorts of feeds. Grocery costs are becoming sky high, including pet foods. Customers say they’re finding grocery shelves emptied of common cat foods, like Friskies and Fancy Feast. That seems astonishing, but now everything’s about broken supply chains. A contemporary big issue is fewer active workers. And scarce working truck drivers.

So, my register brings shoppers, hurrying to find holiday and gift items they fear won’t be available much longer. Their concerns are catching, and I worry, too. For one thing, about whether to stockpile foods for my household pets.

We’re all in this together.

My work at a cash register is in an environment that allows employees to listen and care. That strengthens my sense of, and appreciation for the larger community.

Dear Friends: Yea! For working truck drivers, still transporting needed goods. Diana