Since it's been a relatively slow news day (ha!) I thought now would be as good a time as any to provide what hopefully will be a welcome distraction, an update of sorts on the riveting floodlight saga at Casa de Toldjah as part of my occasional stories documenting my largely error-prone forays into home repair/improvement projects.

When last we left you, the light bulb changer that worked so well for me several months ago in changing out a floodlight that was too unsafe to use a ladder to reach failed me the second time around. I ordered some replacement changer heads that were supposed to come in on Thursday, but.... this has since happened (read from the bottom up):

wondering how many times one small @amazon package can rotate through so many carrier facilities within the same city and day. 🤔 pic.twitter.com/YnyBSpYMQ1

— Sister Toldjah 💙 (@sistertoldjah) June 5, 2025

Initially, it was showing as "out for delivery" around 8 am, but sometime after that, it made its way back to a local carrier facility and has been bouncing from place to place locally ever since.

SEE MORE: The Highs and Lows of Home Repair Projects

Not a YUGE deal in the scheme of things, though, as it has rained on and off and the ground is really saturated. Plus, I don't like walking on wet grass anyway, so I'd have had to put the project off another day or so. The package is now listed as "out for delivery," but I'll believe it when I see it (insert "that's what she said" joke here).

That said, the periodic checking of Amazon for tracking updates brought to mind a thought bubble on how consumers have increasingly become reliant on shipping/delivery services over the years.

I have done very little research on this, but though courier services like FedEx and UPS and food/grocery/home goods delivery apps were a thing prior to the start of the pandemic, after it started, it seemed the floodgates opened. 

People did all the ordering they could through website storefronts and the like because of all the mandates on which stores could open and for how long (not to mention the more stringent occupancy limits put in place), because people were being strongly "urged" (ordered, really) to stay home, and/or in some cases because of the general fears many had about being around others outside of family members.

Though I have no data to support it, I feel like the explosion in online shopping is what's really made life hard for the brick-and-mortar stores. I mean, there were issues before 2020 with store closings and whatnot, but over the last five years, you've seen so many abandon ship, with some retailers switching to online-only offerings primarily, I think, because people have gotten so comfortable with the convenience of having someone else shop/ship their items for them.

I've seen arguments made about how consumers should "stop being lazy" and get out and support stores in their communities, and while I get that on some level, it's not always about "being lazy" (and not that there's anything necessarily wrong with "being lazy" sometimes, either!).

In our case, for example, being able to order groceries, lunch, etc., online has been a game-changer in a good way. I work full-time at home and am also a full-time caregiver to my mom, so my "free time" (what is that?) is limited. And I'll tell ya, there are many days when I just don't have it in me to make the trek out to get the things we need. 

So even though some of the fees are a little on the high side for me, I support my community by ordering lunch and groceries online on occasion.  They still get shopped in local stores, just not always by me.

Currently waiting on an Instacart order to be delivered and all I can think about is the fact that they have a delivery ahead of mine and that my ice cream will probably be melted by that point. #FirstWorldProbs pic.twitter.com/b5kJshAOU2

— Sister Toldjah 💙 (@sistertoldjah) July 11, 2024

.@jasonsdeli to the rescue again. No time to make lunch today, so they'll take care of it for me ;) #Mondays

— Sister Toldjah 💙 (@sistertoldjah) April 8, 2024

Also, when the stress levels go up, or when I'm having a bad hair day and don't want to ride out to At Home or Marshall's to look at the latest home decor finds, I'm logging on to Amazon.com or the Bath and Body Works website and placing some orders. 

Though I still love to go out to retail establishments to put hands and eyes on things I might be interested in buying, I make no apologies for online/app shopping.  Places like Instacart, DoorDash, and Amazon have been an essential part of my daily life for many years now, and have kept me from getting stompy feet in the middle of the house more times than I can count.

Much thanks to them all - and I'm sure Mom thanks them, too, because I don't think she could put up with me if they didn't exist!