My Week Of Cilantro

I ramble:

Last week started with a Monday morning trip to the Meijer to get groceries. I was armed with a list created by Anne and a desire to be as efficient as possible. Very soon into my trip at Meijer, I started to look over the grocery list and I realized that efficiency would not be attainable. Here were the items that stumped me:

• Tilapia filets -- there were no fresh filets available, only frozen ones. Is that what Anne wanted? I was pretty sure she said she wanted fresh filets, but there aren't any available.
• Hot pepper sauce -- does this mean a jar of peppers or hot sauce or something in-between?
• Chicken tenders -- this one was frustrating because recently Anne had asked me to get chicken breast tenderloin, so this one had me stumped for a while. Did she want breaded chicken tenders (the frozen kind) or chicken breast tenderloin?
• Cilantro -- what the heck is cilantro? Does it come in a bottle, a bag, or is it in the produce section?

After going through the list and making a tour of the Meijer, I actually found myself stressed out due to my inability to figure out those four items. Seriously, I was experiencing stress. However, I was able to calm myself and make good decisions. And for the record, cilantro is a vegetable that can be found in the produce section.

Well, my week continued and it wasn't a week to be remembered. I wasn't really excited about my job due to a new role that I was given; the weather was turning cold and icy; I found myself becoming lazy in my relationship with God; I weighed myself on our scale at one point in the week and set a career high. All in all, I was ready for the weekend.

My weekend started with a Friday night feast. In celebration of a friend's birthday, Anne and I ventured to a local Mexican restaurant, Dos Reales. I was hungry after a long day and I ordered a meal of chicken tacos with chorizo and rice and beans. After my meal arrived, I noticed an inordinate amount of green stuff on my tacos. It wasn't lettuce, but it still was green so I knew I didn't like it on my taco. Upon closer review, I realized the green substance was none other than cilantro. Apparently, cilantro is a normal addition to the meal I ordered, however I failed to order the tacos without cilantro. Grumpily, I ate my tacos with cilantro scattered all about.

It's amazing how a little vegetable can ruin my week. Cilantro kicked off my Monday with some stressful moments in the Meijer, and ruined my feast on Friday. But the truth is that cilantro didn't ruin my week; I ruined my week by letting the little things in life get to me. Seriously, my life is freakin' awesome. I've got a job that pays me to do things I enjoy (for the most part), I've got a great wife and home, quality friends and family, a solid church, and a God who loves me. But I let cilantro (and other stupid things) ruin my week. The details of life sometimes take the headlines when the priorities sit in the shadows. But it's my fault. And I'm making the choice to not go near cilantro this week. My life's too good for that.