they moved my cheese, my cans of tomatoes, my frozen fish...

I'm off kilter. I'm surprisingly anxious and I'm breathing too hard.  This shouldn't be so upsetting. I should just deal with it. Or leave.  I grab the items on my grocery list, nothing extra, and get the hell out of Dodge.  My Kroger is being renovated.

They remodeled the two ends first and added space to both sides. It made for a messy experience, but everything was where it had always been.  Then. Then they opened up the ends, made a pathway to connect them, and began to remodel the middle. 

I freaked out. The store is huge, and the disconnect between the two ends makes it feel more so.  They've shifted all the produce from one end of the store to the opposite end, frozen stuff is somewhere, and the bakery is now on the left. Or something.  I didn't stay to analyze the changes.  I couldn't find my cheese.

I've been shopping at that particular Kroger because it is was small. No longer. I cook from whole ingredients and don't need a lot of prepared anything, which is what they're increasing.  Chef Somebody's Prepared Dinners.  I know many people enjoy the convenience, but why do they have to do this to my store?

I moved to Publix. So many of my neighbors swear it is better anyway. I decided to give it a month to see if I could get used to it. They certainly don't keep the cheese where I could easily find it.  I wrote down a quick summary of the items in each aisle. I gave myself the time to find items, and I asked employees for help locating things. I took advantage of their coupons and discounts.

And I spent, on average, $25 more each week.

So now what?  Do I go back to the panic-attack-inducing Kroger?  Wait it out at Publix until the Kroger renovations are finished and then buck up and go back? Pay for peace of mind at Publix? (I might have a new jingle for them there...)

All I wanted was my cheese.