Shopping Cart Of Love: The Play
Christine Lavin Lyrics

The note said "Darling...
I received a heartbreaking letter informing me that my fiance had left me for my roommate.

I hate to tell you this way,
The letter informed me of the news rather bluntly.

But I've run off with your Roommate,
My fiance had left me for my roommate.

Signed - Your Fiance".
The letter was signed by my now ex-fiance.

I sat down and cried.
I was filled with pain at what I had just discovered and couldn't help but burst into tears.

What else could I do?
I was left feeling hopeless and had no idea what should be my next course of action.

That's when I noticed that my CarKeys were missing to,
I realized that my car keys were also taken by my ex-fiance when he left.

And so was my favorite sweater,
My ex-fiance had taken one of my beloved sweaters on his way out.

And my TV
One of the items my ex-fiance stole was my television.

And My Stereo!
Another item taken by my ex-fiance was my stereo system.

My whole life crumbled before my eyes.
The loss of my fiance coupled with the theft of my belongings was too much for me to handle and I felt as though everything in my life was falling apart.

Where was I to go?
I had no idea where I could turn to given my current situation.

I ran to the Supermarket
As I tried to find a means of escape from my troubles, I found myself in the supermarket.

In a blinding rage
I was full of turbulent emotions which led me to lose control and act erratically.

Craving foods I have not touched since I was
I was in search of comfort of any kind, even if it meant indulging in foods I hadn't eaten in years.

Twelve years of age.
These cravings were ones I had not experienced since I was a young child.

'Cuz not only did my man run out today
In addition to my fiance leaving me, I had just been fired from my job.

My boss let me go
I had been let go from my place of work for reasons unknown to me.

I have been depressed before
I had experienced feelings of sadness in the past.

But never quite this low
This was, however, the lowest point in my life.

Yes I guess I've been depressed
Admitting to myself that I was struggling with depression was not a new feeling.

But ever this low? NO!
However, I had never felt this low in my life before.

And I ran up and down the aisles of the supermarket
As I searched for something to make me feel better, I frantically ran through the store.

Crying and shaking and pulling things off the shelves
My overwhelming emotions of sadness and fear led me to grab things off the shelves without much thought.

Based solely on their carbohydrate, calorie and cholesterol count.
The only factor I cared for in my purchases was how healthy they were for me to consume.

I didn't go overboard.
I didn't end up buying more than I needed.

Just enough to get me through the night.
I only purchased items that would help me pass the night without giving in to my emotions.

So I threw my purchases down on the conveyer belt
As I approached the cash register, I hastily threw my items onto the conveyor belt.

They rolled up to the checkout girl
My items were conveyed to the checkout girl.

She looked at them
The checkout girl took a look at the items I had picked out.

She looked at me
The checkout girl also looked up at me while analyzing my purchases.

And she said...
The checkout girl had something to say to me.

Hey Lady can't you read?
The checkout girl was pointing out that I had missed a sign indicating that I could only purchase a certain amount of items.

The sign here says express.
The sign above the checkout instructed me that it was an express lane which could only service a limited number of items.

I'll check you out if you have got
The checkout girl was telling me that I would be able to use the express lane if I had only a few items.

Ten items or less.
This was the express lanes limit on items that you could have purchased there.

But you've got
Pointing out that I had more items than was allowed in the express lane.

2 4 6 8 9 10 11 12 13 things right here
Counting out each of the items in my cart.

If you want me to check you through
The checkout girl was giving me the choice of removing some items from my cart if I wished to use their express lane.

Put three things back my dear.
I needed to remove three items if I hoped to be checked out within the express lane.

Well NO! I said defiantly
I refused to give up any of my items in order to use the express lane.

Trying not to shake
My emotions were getting the better of me despite my trying to keep them in check.

Then she said "Sweetheart, you don't need those
The checkout girl, despite her current role, started to give me some advice.

Hostess Twinkies, You don't need that Coffee Cake
The first items the checkout girl advised me to leave out were some snack cakes and coffee cake, which would not benefit my health.

And why those Famous Amos cookies
The checkout girl exclaimed over the price of Famous Amos cookies, implying that they were far too expensive for what they were worth.

Let me tell you they're grossly overpriced
The checkout girl was making it clear how over-priced the cookies were.

Put three things back
If I wanted to use the express lane, I had to put three items back into the store shelves.

Those are the rules
The rules of the express lane were made clear to me by the checkout girl.

I'm asking you real nice".
Despite her advisement, the checkout girl was still asking me in a nice manner to put back some of the items I had picked out.

But I just couldn't take it
I had reached the point where I simply could not take any more bad news or advice.

I felt like such a mess
My emotions had gotten the better of me and I felt like I was falling apart.

So I put everything back
I put everything I had picked out back onto the shelves of the store.

And bought a Shopping Cart of Love instead.
In place of the items I had purchased previously, I decided to buy a cart of emotional healing and understanding for myself as I needed it far more than anything else in the store.