The Calm Before the Storm??

Documenting Today’s Prices

There are days when everything feels still—like the world itself has stopped for a moment, letting the familiar take shape again. In northwest Indianapolis, at the grocery store, the prices of everyday goods have settled into a quiet rhythm. Prices that, for now, seem to have found a resting place, though it’s hard to ignore the knowledge that they won’t stay this way for long. They are lower than they once were, but I’ve seen these numbers shift before, and I know it’s only a matter of time before they rise again.

At the pump, unleaded gasoline stands at $3.30 per gallon. It’s a relief, yes—when compared to last year’s peaks. A dozen white eggs, at $2.29, feels almost nostalgic, like a simpler time I can barely recall. Whole milk, at $3.59, seems stable for now. But in my mind, I know the pattern. The world shifts, and the numbers on the tags change with it. These are fleeting moments, nothing more than brief pauses before the inevitable rise.

In the aisles of Kroger, the prices linger like faint echoes, each one a reminder that these quiet periods are never meant to last. All-purpose flour, at $3.79 for a five-pound bag, and bacon, now $6.99 per pound, reflect a time of uneasy calm. 80/20 ground beef, priced at $4.79 per pound, and chicken breasts at $3.99, almost seem out of place now. The numbers remain for now, but it’s only a matter of time before they’re swallowed up by higher costs—like the slow creep of change, rising like mist in the morning.

The heating bill—a stark reminder of the colder months—is now around $75 a month for an average family of two. Even something as simple as a man’s haircut, now priced at $20, has that same familiar weight: a number that once felt reasonable, now creeping higher. It’s as if the world has found a rhythm, moving steadily toward the next chapter, and the quiet comfort of today gives way to the unsettling anticipation of tomorrow.

I can’t help but remember the past, when prices felt like they would never change. When goods from the store didn’t leave me wondering how long I’d have to endure the next price hike. These prices, though manageable for now, seem to belong to another time—just as yesterday’s comforts feel like relics, lost to a world that keeps shifting, whether we want it to or not. The past is always a little bit clearer in hindsight, but it’s the future that’s the true unknown, always just out of reach

And so, I write these numbers down, not just as a record, but as a marker of the present. Tomorrow’s prices will rise, and these simple figures will be nothing more than a memory. I can’t stop it, just as I can’t stop time from moving forward. But perhaps, by capturing these moments, I can hold onto something real, something that feels like it belongs to a time before the next surge. It’s a quiet act, this recording, but in a world that shifts just beyond our reach, it feels like the only way to truly remember what we had.

Current Prices at Kroger, Northwest Indianapolis (December 2024):

• Unleaded Gasoline: $3.30 per gallon

• A Dozen White Eggs: $2.29

• Whole Milk (1 gallon): $3.59

• All-Purpose Flour (5 lb bag): $3.79

• Bacon (per lb): $6.99

• 80/20 Ground Beef (per lb): $4.79

• Chicken Breasts (per lb): $3.99

• Heating Bill (Family of 2, Average for Month): $75

• Men’s Haircut: $20