Ongoing Struggles

 For the past 10 months I have been getting my groceries delivered to my home. There was no cost for the first three months or so, and the delivery charge is reasonable for the service.

I ordered yesterday for a delivery today.  The order is placed over the phone so there can be the odd glitch in the process.

It may be quite rude of me but I don’t answer phone calls if I don’t recognize the name or number. I got such a call today and let it go to voice mail.  Then I listened to the message. The voice sounded old and frail, hesitant in speaking, confused.

Apparently my groceries were being delivered to the wrong unit number and the call was to verify.  This has happened before with other delivery services. But was this the driver calling? I called back and heard a sigh of relief. She lived in ‘A’ and I lived in ‘K’ so I can see how the mistake was made when I gave my address to the woman at the store. She had trouble hearing me, because I could hear all the store noise in the background.

I laughed to myself in my thinking that the delivery person was old and frail, but it has been students for the most part. 

Before the lockdown when we actually went into a store to shop, it was not out of the norm to find older people working. Especially in the coffee places, grocery stores or Walmart.

If a person wants to work for some extra money, to get out, to be with people, that’s great, more power to them. But if they’re working out of need, to makes ends meet then I sympathize with their situation.

Standing for hours on end, learning new skills and dealing with a public who may not be understanding or empathetic is a harsh reality for one’s later years. And I understand. 

I had been on disability for years, and when I reached retirement age my disability ended. I was going to have Old Age and CPP only. Plus some pension, but as I worked part time until my divorce there was only a twelve year span where I worked full time and earned pension benefits. I was very lucky to move into the complex where I still live where the rent is extremely reasonable.  

My heart goes out to those who struggle, and not just the older population. I had that same struggle as a single parent. 

During these tough times, with the threat of the pandemic, lockdowns and shutdowns, the struggle is real and ongoing with no relief in sight. Businesses have closed and kids are being home schooled. 

Stay strong everyone, stay safe.