You would think it would be simple.....

I recently have spent a lot of time in three different places around our little neighborhood in Catania. I've spent a lot of time at the grocery store, the post office, and the USL medical center. Since my new found need to go to these places has put me there a lot, I've started to notice some things about these places. They all have one major thing in common. Old ladies. There are cute ones that make you want to help them carry their bags, smug ones that look as if they have run a farm their entire life and don't need your help, and lost ones who seem to not really understand whats going on at all in life at that moment in time. I'll explain.
I was in the grocery store yesterday at the WORST time one can go there. 1130 am. BAD time. This is when all the old ladies come out to get lunch materials for their families. We dont have big Wallmart's with 50 check out lines. We have one small little grocery store called SMA and it has exactly 8. Of course, they don't have enough employees to have all 8 open so I can comfortably say there are only 3. After figuring out that this was a bad time to be here I proceeded to only get the very basic of what Kristin needed for lunch instead of getting food for the whole week. I tried to quickly get in line. I was still behind at least 6 people. Some old, some younger. ALL seemed to be in a terrible hurry UNTIL they got to the cashier lady. It is a bit of an Italian custom to know EVERYONE you see and the grocery store is no different. So they stop and talk while the person behind them gets annoyed.
Heres where the old ladies come in. They always try to cut ahead of everyone else! I was standing in line and I put my basket down on the floor so as to not have to hold it the whole time in line. I started talking with a lady in line about the upcoming St. Agatha festival in town. The next thing I new, a sweet old lady, I use this term loosely right now, pushed my basket with her leg and slid in front of me. There was no room so she proceeded to lean against me and make me go back. She even turned around and asked if I didn't mind not crowding her. I was amused. I chuckled to myself and let it go.
Then I saw another old lady looking at the candy that you always find strategically placed on either side of you once you get close to the conveyor belt. She was looking intently at the candy and was acting like she was going to buy something. My turn had finally come and so I reach down and grab my basket to lift it up on the conveyor belt and when I look back up, this sweet old lady had put her things on the conveyor belt and smiled at me saying, "Devo andare a casa a preparare la cena.Tu capisci, vero?" Translated this means, "I need to go home and prepare lunch. You understand right?" The problem was it wasn't just me she was jumping ahead of. It was about 10 people behind me which included OTHER old ladies. They did not like this at all.
Needless to say, I now watch everyone like a hawk in the grocery store lines. If someone has only one thing to buy, or less than me, I try to let them go ahead. It has become a game for me to watch and see how many old ladies will try to cut ahead of others. It really is a fun game. I now do my best to just let them go ahead. I give in. It seems they would have gotten ahead of me either way.


On the happiest note of my life, Kristin is pregnant!! We are really excited and cant wait for this little blessing from God. Please pray for us in our continued work here and all that we do and become. God bless!