In the wake of being turned down for another one of those perfect jobs, I was standing in the grocery store looking for garam masala to go in the vegan saag aloo I planned to make and instead came across a box of PG Tips tea bags and I started crying right there in the aisle.*
So embarrassing.
Those are the tea bags I used to buy when I lived in England. And they were sitting on the shelf next to a box of Hob Nobs and Cadbury's Digestive Biscuits, which I used to buy to go with my tea. In England. Where I used to live.
I loaded them all into my cart. All I could think was I could be sitting in England right now, drinking tea and eating hobnobs (although with the time difference I would probably be drinking a pint and eating a curry) and I would have permanent residency status by now. And a job.
I can't believe I still feel this way sometimes. After a year, you'd think leaving England would not feel like a mistake I just made this morning. I wish it didn't feel like a mistake at all.
I put the tea and the cookies back on the shelf. After traveling 6,000 miles they were super-expensive, and I knew they wouldn't taste the way I remember.
*I had the same reaction one time in England when Sainsbury's started carrying Oreos. What can I say? Processed food makes me emotional.
I can relate...it's just your memory letting you know you love both places. The first time I moved to San Francisco in '72 I was there maybe a couple of days with no job and a puppy named "Baby Wee". While picking up groceries in the Marina Safeway I cracked started crying because I realized I was there alone and knew no one but a very good-looking doctor from Pacific Heights who sold drugs to the Rolling Stones.....(What is it about food stores that brings this out in women???) I called a radio station and found a "rider" (you could do that then without fearing for your life) and drove back East dropping my "rider", Joyce off in NYC. She was a great gal BTW. Yet, here I am back in SF (Tiburon) after all those years (since '89)You never know.... :o)
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