First things first. Someone better come to my house and help me eat the rest of this Cranberry Apple Pie. It is SO delicious, but my husband is allergic to walnuts, so somebody, PLEASE save me from myself and come eat a piece. Or two.

Anyway, back to today. I am the sort of person who might get a little–let’s say agitated, when things don’t go my way. Just ask anyone close to me. I’m high maintenance–no doubt about it. So today, at the grocery store, I was displeased to be served (and I use the word “served” very loosely) by a less-than-enthusiastic checker. Now, I’ve been a grocery checker before, and I’ve been a grocery shopper for quite a few years. There’s a WAY to do it that works. And, as it turns out, there are many, MANY ways to do it that don’t work so well.

For example:

WORKS:  “Good morning, how are you?”

NOT SO MUCH: “Grunt” or “SUP?”

WORKS: Paying attention to the customer and what you’re doing

NOT SO MUCH: Taking a break during my order to show another employee something on your phone

WORKS: Putting like items together (meats with meats, veggies with veggies, etc.)

NOT SO MUCH: Dropping lots of canned goods on top of tomatoes so that, when removed from the bag, they no longer look like something from nature

Now I know how I SHOULD be. I behaved. I did not protest (out loud). I smiled and said, “Thanks, have a nice day.”

Then I came home and griped about it–complete with acting out the scene with me playing the part of Ms. Checker McLazyton.

THEN, I got over it.

Getting over it is definitely underrated. As annoyed as I was, it didn’t take long to remind myself:

I am so thankful today, to accept COMFORT as one of the many gifts of this advent season.

Comfort is defined this way:

Right now, think of all the comfort you receive each day. No one is comfortable all the time, but everyone gets a bit of it at some time.

Don’t take for granted all the times in your life that everything has been–well–just fine.

To celebrate comfort, I baked a simple Cherry Pie. It’s considered by many to be a “comfort food.” I especially like the tiny Christmas trees in the top crust. Downright Festive. And comforting.

Just to boost the comfort factor, I made Chex Mix. For me, it’s another major comfort food. I’m very comforted by the fact that we’re having some people over this weekend. Therefore, there’s a chance I won’t “overcomfort” myself with these treats. Maybe ;).