a game of i-spy

I just realized that I am the only single person I know who shops at Costco. This fact dawned on me with vivid clarity, as I sat by myself eating my Chicken Caesar Salad from the Costco food court last night. All around me was the family-bustle, mothers and fathers swirling around their 2.5 children with their shopping carts filled to the brim with the staples of a household. And me with my meager holdings of a pair of Champion workout pants and my Dove moisture-rich shower gel. I sat observing as a mom played peek-a-boo with a little one, and another cajoled her child to finish the now cold pizza, while numerous dads waited at the window for countless hotdogs and mammoth slices of pizza, and I just sat and observed, and jealously longed for the banal task of family shopping. It reminded me of a scene from When Harry Met Sally. Meg Ryan’s character Sally was musing about a time she babysat a friend’s little girl. The little girl and her played a game of I-spy; after several of the usual outdoor objects, the little girl exclaimed, “I spy a family!” That one little phrase brought Sally to tears, and I understand that heartache more than ever. For now, I guess I will find contentment as the only single person hanging out at the Costco food court watching the families go by.