I went to the local grocery store to pick up some manicotti shells. My turn to cook. Got to the pasta aisle and…there was only one brand of shells. In-ter-est-ing. Normally, we live in abundance. I expected my usual process, read the box, look at the sodium, compare costs. It happens when I have to do the shopping. I have stood in front of the olives considering…green or black? Green. Queen or Manzanilla? Spanish or Greek? Stuffed or not? And, cheeses. White or yellow? Full fat or diet? Pepperjack or swiss or Havarti or… Crackers, cookies and breads, Oh My! Every aisle is an abundance of riches.

I remember the first time I came back from living in Seoul, Korea. While the Commissary on Post had everything we needed, there were limited choices. Off post, the local stores were smaller with limited stock. That was many, many years ago. When I came home, the abundance available to us was a striking contrast. Today, I am not intimidated by the abundance, but neither do I forget to appreciate it, to see it.

Ever get pissed that what you want can’t be found on the shelf? Your favorite brand is out-of-stock. As one of my blessed clients says when he has been inconvenienced, “such a first world problem.”

So, there I stood in the pasta aisle, perplexed. One brand of manicotti. With laser-focused decision making, I picked it up, put it in the cart and moved on to “spaghetti sauce”…Ragu…Bertolli…Barrillo…Prego…Classico….