The One Thing the Pandemic Taught Me in Amarillo

We were talking at work the other day about how weird it is to think that it was only three years ago since we lived through the pandemic. It seems both like it was yesterday and also a world away.

We went through so much craziness. A lockdown. We had to deal with wearing masks, if we even got to leave the house. We had to deal with all sorts of shortages. We couldn't find toilet paper of all things. Disinfectant wipes were hard to come by. Oh, and paper towels and hand sanitizer. Anything that keeps you or items clean was hard to find.

If that wasn't enough then grocery stores started running out of food. The shelves were looking empty. Then if you had a baby there was the formula shortage. Parents had to take to social media to find the brand they needed. People were hunting and driving all over the Panhandle to find what their babies needed. I remember having to drive to Borger one day to get the formula my granddaughter needed.

So for better or worse most things have since been back on the shelves. Items have been easier to find. I still don't trust this to be a forever thing. The panic was too real. So maybe it taught me to hold a little stash back of certain items.

One of those items wasn't even associated with the Pandemic. It was when McDonald's here in Amarillo decided we did not need to have Hot Mustard for our chicken McNuggets or French Fries. I was in a panic about that. Then they listened to our pleas. I mean other locations like Dallas had it in their stores. It was just Amarillo.

So now I stay prepared. I never know when this can change again.

The other issue is with sriracha and red chili paste. Neither of these can be found on the shelves in Amarillo or the country. I have a bottle of each at the house but I will be sparingly using them both. The red chili paste is down to the wire. The sriracha I have a pretty full bottle but who knows when we will see either, if ever, on the shelf again.

I don't want to say that I have become a hoarder because I do have plenty of toilet paper too. I just will not wait until I totally run out of something before I run to the store to stock up. I mean the pain is real.