Peaches & Peace - in a grocery store

The other night, while grocery shopping, I had an epiphany.

It was an amazing moment. I felt peace. REAL peace. In the produce section of a grocery store. If you don’t mind, I'd love to tell  you about it  . . .

I think they play the best music in my local grocery store. I really do. I’m not sure if it is a tape that they change out seasonally, or some CD that their corporate office mails to them with the orders to play it, or both. I’m certain there have been millions of tests and surveys done to determine the very best music to listen to when buying onions, or perhaps the very best music to play when deciding between Frosted Mini-Wheats or Cheerios. I imagine some Board of Directors sitting in a big conference room listening to Barry Manilow while eating Cocoa Puffs and saying, “Hmmmm… this goes well together! Yes, Barry Manilow makes the list!!”

But, what I’m sure they don’t expect is for someone somewhere to have a break-through regarding their life’s journey while walking through their store.

The other day, I had a moment like that. I was sorting through the peaches looking for the perfect peach to include in PG’s Father’s Day breakfast when all of a sudden, I heard it … My Song … my song from about 15 years ago. The song? “What’s Up” by 4 Non-Blondes. Who the heck is 4 Non-blondes? Well, if you are my age (eh-hem, 39), you definitely know them, and their one hit wonder “What’s Up?”. I was 25 when this song came out. I am certain of this because the first line of the song reminds me …

25 years in my life and still

I'm trying to get up that great big hill of hope

For a destination

I realized quickly when I knew I should

That the world was made of this

brotherhood of man,

for whatever that means

[Chorus:]

And So I cry sometimes when I'm lying in bed

Just to get it all out what's in my head

And I, I Am feeling a little peculiar

And So I wake in the morning and I step

Outside and I take deep breath

and I get real high

And I scream from the top of my lungs

What's goin' on

And I SING hey-YEAH-YEA-EAH, EAH HEY YEA YEA

I said hey! what's goin' on

And I SING hey-YEAH-YEA-EAH, EAH HEY YEA YEA

I said hey! what's goin' on

This song was my anthem back then … I was 25, I didn't know who I was or what I wanted, but I was searching for a better destination. There was no “I Will Survive” for me, for I hadn’t experienced anything to survive at the young age of 25. But, I did feel like I was trying to “get up that great big hill” of hope … all of the time. When I hear that song I immediately remember how I felt at that time in my life. I was searching. I was … lost.

You know the saying “life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans” (John Lennon said it in a song once.) Well, the other night, as I shopped for the perfect peach to make my husband a special Father’s Day breakfast, I realized it … I had found my destination.

At the age of 25, I did not know what my destination was. I was trying to get there. I was going up hill. I prayed. I cried. I searched.

And holy cow … there I stood in the produce section and realized … I found it. My life, right now, IS IT. My marriage. My children. My joys. My sorrows. My passions. Art. Writing. Laughing. THIS is exactly where I was meant to be. THIS is ME.

And right there, in the grocery store, I was at peace.

And I try, oh my God do I try

I try all the time

In this institution

And I pray, oh my God do I pray

I pray every single day

For a revolution

THAT was a really amazing moment. Yes, life is good.