Andrew’s elementary school has a wonderful tradition of having parents and caregivers eat lunch with their child. I did not realize this was a big deal until my son asked me to eat with him. So this past Friday, my youngest son, Ben and I ate lunch with Andrew. Ben was delighted to be at his big brother’s school and Andrew was pleasantly surprised to see us sitting at the special visitor’s table. I enjoyed having lunch with my wonderful boys, however when I left the school I felt sick. I could not believe what my son was eating for his lunch.
After eating the school lunch, I wanted to go home and take a nap. I did not see how my six year old was going to concentrate on his work the rest of the day. The school lunch consisted of scrambled eggs (cold), tater tots (greasy and cold), applesauce (with added sugar), milk (chocolate of course), and a large homemade cinnamon roll with icing heaped on the top (it was very yummy!). Since Andrew does not even like scrambled eggs, he ate all of his cinnamon roll, applesauce, and tater tots. I was upset that he had no protein, a large dose of sugar, and the only vegetable really wasn’t a vegetable. When I left the school, I knew that I was going to have to bite the bullet and pack Andrew’s lunch.
Andrew’s favorite part of the day is eating lunch. I have been reluctant to pack his lunch as I didn’t want to ruin the highlight of his day and I did not want to take time away from my day to pack the lunch. Eating lunch with Andrew convinced me that the change had to be made. This weekend my husband talked to Andrew about the lunch he eats on the train. We visited Sam’s and purchased Toy Story carrots and apples slices and a large box of juice boxes. I was very relieved to see Andrew walking in the school, a smile on his face and his “railroad man” lunch in his hand. I am looking forward to hearing how his day has gone.
© October 4, 2010 by Sarah Schwerin
