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To the Store That No Longer Carries My Picky Eater’s Favorite Snack

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Dear Costco,

When we first met, I have to admit I was entranced. You offered so much and so many things, mostly at a discount, in astonishing sizes.

I could get 12 giant rolls of paper towels at one time, gallons of milk at the least expensive price per ounce I could find and stock up on enough canned goods to last for years.

Sure, I could rarely get out of the store without paying a huge bill, but the overall savings and reduced number of shopping trips made it worth it.

You were also amazing about introducing me to new things. Then you would stop carrying the new things or stop carrying the old things. It would be frustrating and disappointing.

And I have now reached my limit for frustrating and disappointing. The issue: dried seaweed.

A couple of years ago you started carrying dried seaweed. It looked like a healthy snack, so I picked it up and it was delicious.

But even more fantastic was that my son, the Navigator, liked it. He ate it as a snack all the time. I was delighted. As far as snack foods are concerned, seaweed appeared to be an all-around win. Plus, it was pretty much the only green vegetable the Navigator would eat.

Then, one day, the seaweed disappeared. When there is something your picky child on the autism spectrum loves, you really need it to be available. In a mild panic, I searched every corner of the store. Repeated inquiries to employees were for naught. The good-for-him snack food that doubled as a secret vegetable was no longer available.

Then I got irritated. Fine. I would find it somewhere else.

Enter Amazon. I had been exploring the benefits of being a Prime member and discovered its “Subscribe & Save” program where items would be delivered to my doorstep on a regular basis. No shopping trips!

Of course, not everything available on Amazon was less expensive than at Costco, even after taking into account the time and driving. But when I saw I could get seaweed delivered monthly, I signed right up.

That’s right, Costco, you have lost me to Amazon as a seaweed-purchasing customer. Plus, some other things, too. Don’t worry, you will still see me now and then — you still have the lowest price per gallon for milk around. I am just going to spend more time with Amazon, that’s all.

We can still be friends.

Don’t smirk, Home Depot. Remember that kitchen faucet you sold us and then didn’t carry the replacement hose? You’re next.

Follow this journey on Autism Mom.

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Lead photo source: Thinkstock Images

Originally published: December 15, 2015
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