Reading Labels

I went grocery shopping this evening after spending way too much time reading about the whole U.S. tariffs situation online. It's weird how something you read about can suddenly make you see your everyday routine differently.

The grocery store was busier than usual for a Monday evening. Couldn't help but notice people actually stopping to read labels, which was kind of funny because I caught myself doing the same thing. There was this older lady next to me in the produce section, muttering "nope, that's from California" before moving on to some Ontario-grown leafy greens. Never saw people care this much about where their grocery came from before.

The pizza maker that works in the grocery store and the guy in front of me were talking about how he cancelled their family's planned trip to Disney World, switching it to Canada's Wonderland instead. Everyone who heard was nodding along like it was the most natural decision in the world.

Walking home with my groceries (definitely more Canadian products than usual in my bag), I realized my bill was about $12 higher than normal. Part of me felt annoyed about the extra cost, but there was also this weird sense of solidarity. Like, for the first time, my grocery shopping felt like some kind of statement.

The whole experience left me feeling both proud and a bit sad. Proud of how people are coming together, but sad that it had to come to this with our closest neighbour. Never thought I'd see the day when buying maple syrup over American pancake syrup would feel like a political act.

Still can't believe I spent ten minutes comparing milk to find a Canadian one. What a time to be alive.