so what

I am in danger of becoming a hoarder. You know those people they show on Oprah that have all kinds of stuff hidden everywhere? Except that I wont have knick-knacks and kitty litter piled high and a house smelling like cat pee. Instead, you'd find boxes and boxes of Stevia I bought back in Arizona (since I have a hard time finding it here) hidden discreetly in cabinets alongside my favorite reed and oil room scents. The ones I was lucky enough to find here with the perfect vanilla fragrance, not the vanilla that smells like a mix of sugar and barf. Thus the reason I felt compelled to "stock up".

If I had enough room in the freezer I would have boxes of Aunt Jemima Buttermilk Pancakes (my Shakes favorite) piled to the tippy top and boxes of Kind Bars, cranberry almond, in the pantry. And the Egyptian Cotton Linen Spray I found that I can't live without? Bottles and bottles of that lining the shelves of my laundry room.

You see, here in Dubai you can eventually find anything your heart desires at some point......after driving all over town and making trips to multiple stores. The catch is, will they have it again when you go back? I am all excited that I found the perfect unsweetened green tea in a bottle and then next time when I walk in the store, slap in the face, the shelf is now empty. I sigh, head to the tea-bag aisle and buy a box (or twenty, in case those are gone next time) and remind myself it's less expensive to brew my own tea at home anyway. Sooner or later my favorites seem to pop up again on those shelves. In the meantime I try and find the next best thing and stay patient. This adventure I am living is not just about the novelty of being in an foreign country. It's about the lessons learned in adapting, compromising and becoming more flexible every single day. I am pretty sure that by the time we move on from here my middle name will be "flexible" instead of "wtf".

I have never been a multiple purchase kind of girl but I am becoming one for fear that my old favorites and new favorites wont be found on my next trip to the store. But, you know what? I am also becoming the kind of girl that can say "so what." They may not have exactly what I'm looking for right when I want it but maybe I'll find something new that I like even better.

And, when that Stevia I bought in Arizona runs out? Well, then I will drive all over town, go to five different stores and if I still can't find it, I will resort to asking a friend back home to send me a box......or twenty......