Buyer's Remorse

I mean it’s June. Mid to late June. My last post was in February. It’s been a minute. Lots has happened in 4 months because, well, 4 months is a long time. I won’t bore you with all the details but just know that I’m good, my family is good, and right now that’s enough for me to be exceedingly grateful. It hasn’t been an easy 4 months. It’s actually been marked with a lot of sadness involving family and friends I love who are going through really hard things. Things that don’t necessarily affect me directly but when people you love are hurting, it’s hard not to be affected and hurt for them and with them. So far 2018 isn’t my favorite.

Wow. Lots of doom and gloom over here.

Feel free to log off and find a picture of a sunset on Instagram. Sheesh.

Let’s press on into something else shall we?

Life’s been heavy lately so how about a ridiculous story at my own expense? It’ll make us all feel better about our lives.

Have you ever made a decision and upon making it, immediately regretted it?

I’m going to assume you have. (Bangs as an adult anyone?)

Several years ago, I took my boys to get haircuts at a salon. While there, a man came into the salon advertising wholesale beef and chicken. (You guys, I know.) He wasn’t just selling it; he was declaring it to the world. This meat was top grade and the deal we’d get was even better. He claimed he was delivering to restaurants in the area and had a surplus he was willing to sell for a discounted price. He was persuasive, he was high energy, he had a binder. What more information did I need? I carelessly threw out there that my husband and I had talked about buying meat in bulk before.

Stupid, stupid move.

I didn’t stand a chance. I was road kill for the vultures after that.

He showed me his price list with all the cuts of meat and I told him that was far too expensive so I thought I’d have to pass.

He was no dummy, he saw me coming a mile away.

I bet you can’t guess what happened next?

Anyone?

That’s right. He said he could work a deal out “just for me”. Ya’ll he was sooo nice and being a salesman, obviously he would NEVER lie. As the price went down, so did my resolve. I kept thinking, “Wow, I’m going to get all this meat for cheap! He’s even going to throw in the chicken! I can’t wait to tell Kyle! He’s going to be so proud that I took the initiative and pulled the trigger on such a good deal!” I felt so empowered. I felt like a person who can make her own decisions.  So what did I do? I handed over my credit card and let him charge me $400. The man was thrilled! He couldn’t wait for me to try some of this meat. He just knew I would be so happy with it. He walks me out to what I assumed would be his big meat truck.

Ummmm, hold on.

Where’s the big truck with a meat locker inside? I don’t see one anywhere. So I keep following the guy. Then I start getting that feeling in my gut.

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO.

He proudly stopped at his little pick up truck and is climbing into the bed to get to his “freezer”.

Let’s talk about this freezer. It wasn’t even a Yeti since this transaction took place before those were a thing. He was opening up what looked like a glorified Igloo cooler. You’ve got to be kidding.

He was so excited to hand over my cooled meat in their vacuum-sealed packages. I wanted to throw up. I didn’t know what to say. He already had my money and to tell him just kidding I didn’t want it anymore seemed beyond offensive. I mean he thought his meat was amazing! So I let him load the packages and packages of meat in my car and I drove away. I was nauseas the entire ride home. I didn’t want to tell Kyle what I’d done. Four hundred dollars isn’t chump change and I had just spent it on meat that’s been sitting in a cooler in the back of an old guy’s pick up. I get a little throw-uppy thinking about it all these years later.

Luckily, Kyle is full of grace and wasn’t mad and thought the meat was “probably fine.” Probably fine. That’s encouraging.

I did end up cooking a lot of it and feeding it to my family and we don’t have mad cow disease as far as I know. But the chicken, ya’ll. Kyle said it tasted normal. I disagreed wholeheartedly. I thought it had a funny taste. I couldn’t bring myself to eat it. It was marinated in guilt and shame and I just couldn’t do it.

That meat sat in our freezer for at least a year or two as a subtle reminder of the time I made a bad choice and bought meat out of a pickup truck. I finally threw it out to rid myself of the guilt and I’ve never felt better about anything in my life.

What’s a decision you made that turned sour almost immediately? Email me and let me know!

-Courtney