It was a sunny Saturday morning when Bob decided to tackle the most daunting task of the weekend: grocery shopping. His wife, Linda, handed him a meticulously written shopping list before he left. “Don’t forget anything, Bob!” she called as he headed out the door.
Bob, feeling confident, tucked the list into his pocket and made his way to the store. Upon arrival, he pulled out a list—only it wasn’t the shopping list. It was last week’s reminder to pick up their dog from the groomer. “No problem,” he thought, “I’ll just remember everything myself.”
Bob’s first stop was the produce section. He vaguely remembered apples being on the list. Or was it oranges? He grabbed both, just to be safe. Next, he moved to the dairy aisle. Milk, that was a given. But what about cheese? He stood there for a solid five minutes debating between cheddar and mozzarella before deciding to buy both.
As he wandered through the aisles, Bob’s confidence wavered. Was it whole wheat bread or rye? He bought both. Was it chicken breasts or thighs? He threw in some of each. He even managed to pick up items he was certain weren’t on the list but seemed like good ideas at the time—like a novelty-sized jar of pickles and an economy pack of toothbrushes.
Feeling triumphant, Bob returned home and began unloading the groceries. Linda inspected the bags with growing amusement. “Bob, we don’t even own a cat. Why did you buy cat food?”
Bob’s face turned red as he mumbled, “I thought it might be for a new recipe or something.”
Linda burst into laughter. “And the 24 rolls of toilet paper?”
“Well, you can never have too much…”
Linda shook her head, still laughing. “Next time, Bob, just don’t forget the list.”
Bob smiled sheepishly. He knew there would be a next time, and he knew he’d probably forget the list again. But at least they were well-stocked on cheese and toilet paper for the foreseeable future.