Cari's Vignettes

Grocery Shopping with a Grouchy Little Sister

She did it again. My sister, I mean. After recently burying a misunderstanding with me, another one at its worst emerges from the ashes. Should I adjust again? Should I just concede and compromise because I’m older and because I’m supposed to be the “wiser” one?

This time it is different. I believe she is being irrational, prejudiced, and ridiculous. I should do something different from conceding.

Her unreasonable behavior should stop. She is acting like a spoiled brat! The worst in all of these is that, I get all the blame. I’m tired of that. I know she is my sister, but… I really have to do something. If I don’t act, she will get worse and this bothers me. I don’t want her to be a stumbling block.

When our parents left for a four-month long vacation, Cranberstein was assigned all the finances and accounting stuff. Naturally, she will act as if she were a real treasurer – a banker. My parents assigned her that role because it is her dream to work in a bank. I did not protest or question my parents’ assignation of roles. I am not good with money matters anyway.

Cranberstein proved to be a tight-fisted “banker”. I adjusted to her parsimony, alright. But she got to my nerves at certain times. There were stretches of discordance, arguing, and quarreling – a lot of it, in fact. We have proven to be fierce dissenters of each other.

I have just come across the art of remaining silent in the midst of stormy conflicts. Indeed, I ventured to practice it. That is why, in most of our hostile bouts, I tried and tried to keep my mouth shut. It was a struggle, so to speak. I am usually an accomplished word-fighter.

A while ago, while we were out grocery shopping, Cranberstein suddenly metamorphosed from this good-humoured and affable girl to someone who is touchy, cantankerous, and grumpy. As it turned out, she wasn’t happy about paying an extra five-hundred pesos for the groceries. Her gesticulations and actions hinted that the budget deficit was entirely my fault.

That was such an injustice! I haven’t put anything in that shopping cart that wasn’t necessity – shampoo, conditioner, liners, and… oats… Basically, that was all I have gotten for myself. I even told her beforehand, that those were the things I intended to buy at Shopwise. Her sudden petulance did not make sense at all. Was I supposed to just put up with that… again?

I should have gotten mad. I should have gotten angry and cranky, like a mean older sister could. But I resisted the temptation, for I know better… and I could still take it all in anyway…

“Back to the shelves,” I have thus remarked to Pond’s, Carefree, Cream Silk, Pantene, and Olay.

Like what my parents said – and the books, too – change in behavior doesn’t happen overnight. It takes a certain period of time and patience. All I have to do is wait for time to aid in the change in my sister. Besides, she’s just a child; she’s just my little sister. She has yet to meet Madame Reality who will tell her that sometimes, the money we have is not always enough to keep up with Price Surge and Price Increase. Cranberstein will have to meet Mr. Inflation, too.

Ah, sister. She still has years and years to eat rice…

I should just sleep this dejection away… lest I hate and be consumed by it. I will let Time and Fate take the reins. I’m too tired to wring reason from a grouchy little sister.

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