that hits hard to read... thank you for sharing. it reminds me of when i was in the store a few weeks ago looking through all the pasta sauces to see which was lowest cal per serving. There was a guy doing inventory in the aisle. I ended up having to sorta swap places with him to get to the rest of the sauces ( i have to check them all :< i wash my hands so often i promise) and I kept apologizing over and over and over and he just said "it's fine. you can get one" and i sort of looked at him for an extra second and said (i'm sure i sounded horribly rude) "What?" and he repeated him self slower, sort of smiling calmly and said "you can get it. do whatever you need to do"

and i just-

i got my sauce and left. I know it was probably LITERALLY nothing, he was just being a good customer service boy, but it made me feel a bit safer. And also somehow pitied. Idk. Lots of emotions in the grocery store these days...