The big retail news in our area is that Costco finally opened a store here. They promised to open a store some years ago, but then the economy tanked and the while thing was put off indefinitely. Now, they are back and they are open.
If you have never been to a Costco, it is basically a large aluminum box filled with lots of stuff to buy. It has the "warehouse" style of marketing, which means large supplies of large boxes of stuff at pretty good prices. If you have ever been to a Sam's Club, you will have the idea, except that Costco tends toward slightly higher-end items.
When we lived in Washington State, we used to shop at Costco pretty frequently. We had four children and lots to purchase. Costco (which sells everything in large amounts) was a good option. After moving here, we have not been in one for eight years.
Well, we've got a Costco now. Trouble is, there are only three of us at home now. Everyone else is grown and gone (or, at least, at college). Giant vats of ketchup and giant bags of vegetables or fruit are no longer really our cup of tea (or crate of tea).
I went again this morning (their gas price is excellent) and looked around at folks and a couple of things. I have figured out that the key to Costco is that they sell name-brand stuff cheaper than other people, but that store-brands are still cheaper in other places. Still.
It was interesting to see all the young families with two carts (one for children and one for groceries). It was interesting to see older couples getting just a few things (meat is pretty cheap there). Folks were lining up at the various sample stands for a taste of Fiber One cereal or a drink of some special coffee. It is still Costco.
Life goes on, doesn't it? Even as our lives change (our children leaving, for example), other lives come along. In our class on parenting, we see young couples struggling with the same things we faced 20 years ago and being given the same answers.
It is a comfort, in a way. Ecclesiastes 1 addresses the frustration of how the world stays the same no matter what we do.
A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.
The sun rises, and the sun goes down,
and hastens[c] to the place where it rises.
The wind blows to the south
and goes around to the north;
around and around goes the wind,
and on its circuits the wind returns.
All streams run to the sea,
but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they flow again.
Today, I am thinking of the "generation goes, generation comes" part of that sermon. To all the young people who are in the generation that is coming, welcome aboard. You are about to see and do things you never imagined. Your life will be something you never dreamed.
And one day, when your generation is going, you will look back and remember it all. May you so live that, on that day, you can look back with satisfaction.
If you have never been to a Costco, it is basically a large aluminum box filled with lots of stuff to buy. It has the "warehouse" style of marketing, which means large supplies of large boxes of stuff at pretty good prices. If you have ever been to a Sam's Club, you will have the idea, except that Costco tends toward slightly higher-end items.
When we lived in Washington State, we used to shop at Costco pretty frequently. We had four children and lots to purchase. Costco (which sells everything in large amounts) was a good option. After moving here, we have not been in one for eight years.
Well, we've got a Costco now. Trouble is, there are only three of us at home now. Everyone else is grown and gone (or, at least, at college). Giant vats of ketchup and giant bags of vegetables or fruit are no longer really our cup of tea (or crate of tea).
I went again this morning (their gas price is excellent) and looked around at folks and a couple of things. I have figured out that the key to Costco is that they sell name-brand stuff cheaper than other people, but that store-brands are still cheaper in other places. Still.
It was interesting to see all the young families with two carts (one for children and one for groceries). It was interesting to see older couples getting just a few things (meat is pretty cheap there). Folks were lining up at the various sample stands for a taste of Fiber One cereal or a drink of some special coffee. It is still Costco.
Life goes on, doesn't it? Even as our lives change (our children leaving, for example), other lives come along. In our class on parenting, we see young couples struggling with the same things we faced 20 years ago and being given the same answers.
It is a comfort, in a way. Ecclesiastes 1 addresses the frustration of how the world stays the same no matter what we do.
A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.
The sun rises, and the sun goes down,
and hastens[c] to the place where it rises.
The wind blows to the south
and goes around to the north;
around and around goes the wind,
and on its circuits the wind returns.
All streams run to the sea,
but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they flow again.
Today, I am thinking of the "generation goes, generation comes" part of that sermon. To all the young people who are in the generation that is coming, welcome aboard. You are about to see and do things you never imagined. Your life will be something you never dreamed.
And one day, when your generation is going, you will look back and remember it all. May you so live that, on that day, you can look back with satisfaction.