Enjoy The Journey

I have a friend that sends me a daily inspiration email each morning (hence the name daily). Normally these little emails are uplifting and a pretty good way to start the day. The one that was sent this morning was especially on the money because it was entitled "Enjoy The Journey".

I began this blog a long time ago. This is the third incarnate. The first two were snappy and full of bite. I decided that snappy and bitey were not the direction I wanted to go. Then I began this one (and it was juuuust right).

I've been throught a lot in my 38 years and still have much, much, MUCH more to go. One thing that I have learned is that if you don't stop to smell the roses, you will miss a lot.

Here's to roses. May they smell good forever.

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TODAY'S WORD Sometimes it's easy to become so goal-oriented and so focused on our dreams that we overlook the simple things that we should be enjoying in our everyday life. But we have to remember that life is not really about the destination, it's about how we live all along the way. It's about the path we're on that shines brighter and brighter.

In this life, there is no such thing as a finish line. Once you accomplish one dream, God will give you another. When you overcome one challenge, there will be another. There is always another mountain to climb. If we make the mistake of just living for the destination, we'll look up one day and realize we've missed out on the biggest part of life because most of life is routine. Most of us get up every morning, go to work, come home, eat dinner, go to bed and do it again. There are very few mountaintops where you graduate from school, or you get married, or have a child, or go on vacation. The high times are few and far between. Don't get stuck living for the mountaintops. Learn to enjoy the path you're on. Learn to enjoy the people in your life. Learn to enjoy the simple blessings of walking in the path the Lord has prepared for you.

VENT - Krappy Karrots from Kay-Roger

This post is the real letter I sent to Kay-Roger. I'm not a happy camper right now and when momma's not happy, she tells ALL of her friends.

My vow is to keep telling people I'm not happy until Kay-Roger makes me happy. I'll let you know how long that takes.

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Kay-Roger, Atlanta Marketing Area
2175 Parklake Dr
Atlanta GA 30345

Mr. L,

I have generally enjoyed shopping at your stores. The prices are low and the selection has been good. However, I have noticed in the past 6 – 12 months that the quality of food, the selection and the customer service level has gone down. Even so, I continued to patronize the store because it was closest to my home.

Yesterday, I walked into my local Kay-Roger store in search of a 2lb bag of carrots. There were about six 2lb bags of carrots in stock and all of them were wet, slimy, old and had roots growing out of them. I went in search of the 1lb bags and found the same number of carrots but instead of slimy, they were old, dry, cracked carrots.

I asked that the produce manager be paged. After 5 minutes I was informed that he was not in. I then asked for the store manager. Five minutes later, he came over to me, I showed him the carrots and he simply looked at me with a blank stare. I explained to him that the carrots were old and decayed enough that they could make someone sick. I told him this THREE times. He continued to stare at me, not apologizing, not offering to produce another bag, not saying a word. I asked if he had any fresh carrots in the back and he brought out two 1lb bags of the old carrots. He said that he had just taken them out of the box. I told him that he should have denied the shipment.

I have visited the (__) store for the past 2 years because it is less than a mile from my house. I have also visited the (__) store (4.4 miles from my home) and the (__) Store (4.2 miles). They have the same issues as the one in my neighborhood. If I want a decent Kay-Roger shopping experience I have to travel 9.2 miles to the nearest store!

This may not seem like a long distance to you, but I am a busy mom and I don’t have time to travel in search of a Kay-Roger that carries quality food and offers good customer service. Yesterday I went to the (other) store located across the street from your store. They had fresh carrots at a cheaper price and the customer service attendant was very friendly.

I would like for someone to contact me and explain why 1) the produce is allowed to be in that condition and 2) why managers are not trained to pull questionable items off the shelves. Until I receive a response, I plan to begin visiting the Poo--blay Grocery store on (__) for my weekly shopping. I also plan on telling my circle of friends about my experience. If the Kay-Roger stores in my neighborhood cannot be comparable to the Kay-Roger stores off of (__) and (__), then I simply will go elsewhere.