I recently celebrated my 66th birthday. About a month before the actual day, Mr. Bill asked me what I wanted for my birthday.

Without hesitation, I said “I want to have a shopping cart”, “you know one of those wire open ended jobs that has four wheels?”.

This is what I had in mind ~ a folding shopping cart!

He looked perplexed.

Why would I want that?

“I’ve always wanted one” I explained and proceeded to describe my ideal shopping cart companion. I wanted one that had a cover on it so I could shop in all kinds of weather and not worry about the contents of the shopping cart. It had to be sturdy but nimble enough to go over curbs once it had groceries in it and had to be easy to manoeuvre.

I have fond memories of being a young mother, and having to be self-reliant….

and in one particular instance, when the kids were in public school, my car needed extensive repair and it meant I was going to be without a vehicle for a couple of weeks. My good hearted neighbour insisted upon picking me up each day to do any errands I might have. It was very kind of her.

That lasted two days. Drove me crazy. Now not only did I not have wheels, now I was on someone else’s schedule. Ugh!

Instead I purchased a knapsack, and while the kids were in school I headed around the neighbourhood doing what I needed to do. What I wasn’t expecting was an unparalleled feeling of freedom once I was alone and moving along the pavement. Me, the knapsack and a great pair of running shoes. I was a little melancholy when the car was repaired and returned.

I was yearning for that wonderful sense of independence again.

Fast forward a good 25 years. I am chronologically older, but my need for independence is still as strong as it ever was. And this concept of a shopping cart as a gift made sense to me.

We live in a neighbourhood where distances to grocery stores, to our local farmer’s market and to any other key destinations are all within 2km.

A very large box from Amazon arrived a couple of days before my birthday ~ could this be? I dare not peak but I did notice a picture on the side of the box that looked a lot like the object of my desire.

Birthday morning, the box in question, was now wrapped and look what was inside! This model is the same or similar shopping trolley.

Wow! I received the Cadillac in Shopping Carts! It has compartments!

The upper compartment is a box, with sides that are secured with velcro. It can be modified so that it opens and you have access to the bottom compartment, in case you want to load something tall or simply fill the cavity in its entirety. You can see the top has an overlapping flap with a clasp for closure.

The bottom compartment, with a solid base, is accessible by a zipper, shaped in a half moon ~ a pretty good size bag of potatoes fits in there and you can see I’ve used those reusuable vegetable bags for other smaller items that can be piled on top.

I’m a happy girl! Everything else I need, is stuffed into my pockets so I am totally hand’s free.

The cart can tilt back onto its back wheels and be pulled behind you enroute, and then can be easily pushed, given the handle configuration, when it is full.

It is so much more than I had in mind. Mr. Bill, thank you!

Now I can easily combine errands with fitness ~ with a side order of freedom!

Be bold, be authentically you!

~ Donna