Today, an older lady came into the shop looking for fish oil.
“Which one is better for memory?” she asked.
I showed her a few options, then asked my colleague to help explain the differences. I was still learning the products myself. The lady listened carefully, compared the labels and eventually chose a bottle of fish oil and a box of CoQ10.
“These are for me,” she said. “I’m not getting any younger. I need something for my memory, and the Q10 is good for the heart, isn’t it?”
Before I packed them, she placed several more bottles on the counter.
“And these need to be sent to China.”
“For your family?” I asked.
“My sister and brother-in-law,” she said. “They always ask me to buy health products from Australia. People in China believe Australian products are better quality. They feel safer taking something bought here.”
She had already written their address on a piece of paper and carefully checked every product before placing it into the shipping box.
“They remind me when they’re running out,” she laughed. “Sometimes they remember their vitamins better than they remember to call me.”
We both laughed.
After she left, I kept thinking about her. She had come in to buy something for her own memory and heart, but at the same time, she was still taking care of relatives thousands of kilometres away.
The shelves around me were filled with fish oil, CoQ10, calcium, joint supplements and collagen. Until I started working in the shop, I had never realised how much thought people put into health products. They compared ingredients, checked where things were made and asked questions about what might help their parents, partners or relatives.
Then I caught myself wondering: when was the last time I had seriously thought about my own health?
Not just eating dinner or trying to sleep earlier. I meant actually doing something consistently to look after myself.
For some reason, I thought of Nizuo.
When we met for coffee, she had looked different. Not younger and not heavily made up—just healthier. Her skin had a quiet glow, and she seemed to have more energy than I remembered.
She had mentioned that she was taking her supplements regularly. At the time, I hadn’t paid much attention.
Standing in a shop surrounded by health products, I suddenly remembered.
That evening, I opened the kitchen cupboard and found several bottles of supplements pushed to the back. I had bought them with good intentions, taken them for a few days, and then forgotten about them.
I checked the expiry dates.
They had all expired.
I threw them away, wiped the empty shelf and closed the cupboard.
Maybe tomorrow would be a good day to begin.