Breaking up...

Here it is now, almost a month since we've been together. And I have to tell you the truth...

I'm not coming back. I thought about it and I'm happier this way.

I spent too much time and money, invested so much of myself, and for what? Salt solutions? Phosphoric acid? BOGOs? No, it isn't worth it. All the coupons in the world can't change that. You'll just keep offering the same things that kept me a prisoner of our relationship and I won't tolerate it.

You said I'd never be able to do it, that I'd come crawling back because of your ease and convenience. You said that my wallet would surely wither and my bank account balk at the very thought of looking elsewhere.

Oh how wrong you were. I know that the words "natural" and "organic" have no real standards, and so I bought food as local as possible and Googled the producers listed on the few prepared foods I did want to have. You didn't count on me learning to can, dehydrate, and process my own foods (oh the magic of the Internet).

And at the end of the day, I am told by others who wish they could do the same that they simply can't afford it. And that is what YOU have convinced them. With your "BIG BUY" packs of chicken breasts made up of salt solutions and hormones and your "GREAT VALUE" loaves of white bread that are mostly air. You've convinced people that I care about that you are offering the best value, that you want to help them stretch their dollar.

You are a big, fat liar.

A 1 lb. package of 4 buffalo burgers from Cibola Farms, (a local buffalo and pig farm that focuses on sustainable practices) cost me six dollars last week. Joe found the first sweet corn of the season at the Trader Joe's near his office for 50 cents an ear. That's two filling dinners for $4 a person. Yes, it's true that some products produced on a local, small scale have a higher price tag. But these whole foods are often more filling because they haven't been processed to death, leaving their nutritional content significantly higher.

I'm not saying I've got all of the answers. I'm just saying that I've found a healthier way to live my life. Maybe I'll stop by now and again for something Joe wants, or to grab some of that delicious sparkling water (which I haven't been able to replicate...yet), but for more? No, I'll be sticking to the farmer's market and MOMs for our groceries from now on.

Goodbye Big Box Grocery Store, goodbye.

My only regret is that I no longer have a surplus of plastic grocery bags to use when cleaning up after the dog...