I don’t think I’ve emphasized this enough in the past, but I really love shopping online. REALLY. LOVE. SHOPPING. ONLINE. I have never liked crowds much. I do everything in my power to avoid malls, I know what size I wear for all my favorite stores so I can shop in my PJs, and our Amazon Prime account gets a serious year-round workout. I feel like the UPS and FedEx guys are family at this point. And when the cold weather sets in I spend as much time in my pajamas as possible. Let’s face it, that’s true no matter what the weather is like. That’s why I was so devastated when my laptop broke in September. How would I get through the holiday shopping season without hot chocolate, the couch, and my laptop? It was rough, but I muddled through (and now can get extremely excited about my new netbook).

So I don’t feel too ridiculous to say that since we moved from Hoboken to the Jersey Shore in November 2007, there was always a piece of me that was unfulfilled. I never felt fully and completely at home down here, as much as I love our house and the area. The reason for this is that when we moved I had to give up Fresh Direct.

Let me say that again so it sinks in (sorry, folks-I’m listening to Aretha and feel the need to testify). I had to give up Fresh Direct *gasps and fainting*.

I didn’t know life could be that good. Combining my love of online shopping with my total contempt for crowded stores was the perfect storm. I personally feel that the ability to order groceries from one’s computer and have them delivered straight to your door is the crowning achievement in all of human history. Forget flight or the Human Genome Project. I hate grocery shopping. I have always hated grocery shopping, even as a kid when my mother would send me to the Shop-Rite across the street for milk and bread. As soon as I was hold enough to cross the street alone I took over my older brother’s role of grocery gopher. Blue-haired ladies armed with coupons, poor eyesight, and fierce cases of Cart Rage scarred me for life. I had to dodge and weave through cart traffic jams  (we stop people from driving cars at a certain point but not shopping carts?!). And I spent what felt like an interminable part of my childhood on line waiting for pennies to be counted and coupon fine print to be haggled over. So it’s not surprising that even as an adult I break into a cold sweat if I’m in a crowded grocery store.

So leaving Fresh Direct behind was a Big Deal. After 3 years of delivery bliss I had to go back to the store. Then a few weeks ago we discovered that Peapod, Stop N Shop’s delivery service, was FINALLY available in our neighborhood! I almost cried, it was like a Christmas miracle. So tonight, while in my PJs, I got my second glorious Peapod delivery. My only issue is that they deliver in plastic bags; I have an arsenal of reuseable bags, and Fresh Direct always delivered in cardboard boxes that we tried to reuse. That’s a lot of waste that will depress me a little.

But I’ll get over it.

I think I’m gonna like it here.