Help elderly with their grocery shopping

When I wrote this tip, I hesitated because of the following story:

When we lived in the States, it was custom for retired (fit) persons to earn something extra as baggers in the grocery stores. They loaded your purchased items into bags and then brought them to your car. They usually refused being tipped.

At first I was embarrassed. As a young woman, I was not comfortable with being “served” for something I was perfectly capable of doing myself. So I often said that I would do it myself, convinced that I was making those people happy by not letting them do ‘my dirty work’.

Until …a sweet elderly bagger told me this offended him. He said this felt as though I saw him as ‘too old’, so no longer capable of packing my groceries.

So you see, sometimes we think we are doing the right thing and unconsciously we miss the ball completely.

And that thin line applies to this tip as well. That is  the reason why I hesitated. So if you see somebody needing help, best ask if they would like that. Asking never hurts 😉

In any case, in these Corona times, I would actually like to change our tip for today a bit.

Tip for today
Instead of just helping them carry grocery bags, suggest to elderly you know, to do the shopping for them. This way they are less at risk of getting infected and this is surely appreciated!