As I'm ending my day I realize that I have visited many things from my past. I texted an old friend from high school that I haven't talked to in probably 31 years although I adored him growing up; I had to give a presentation tonight and as usual I used many references to my childhood as I answered questions; I worked on an essay test that is due at the University of Iowa on Wednesday (didn't I graduate in 1982 from there?); and finally, my favorite, I just finished making my daughter's lunch.
My daughter is 15 and more than capable of making her own lunch. I haven't made "a" lunch for over a year because Charlie and Rachel eat at school exclusively now. They should. They go to a school that won national recognition because they serve organic and home grown foods. They buy locally and are doing a great thing for the economy. Rachel is taking her lunch tomorrow because she has a meeting over lunch and will be rushed. Being the wonderful mother I am, she is taking a peanut butter sandwich, cheetos, granola bar, and oranges. As I packed her lunch, I realized that at this school, I am one of THOSE parents. My Rachel is growing up in one of THOSE families. In short, her hot lunch at school may be the BEST MEAL OF HER DAY!!!
As someone in education, I can tell you I hear it all the time. Those low income families that you worry about if the kiddos are getting enough to eat and so you say at some point, "eating at school may be the best meal they get or the only meal they get". It's not said to be mean, in our world, it is said because it is the truth. At Price Lab, I AM THAT FAMILY. Lunch at Price Lab is definitely the healthiest meal that my kids ever eat. It's organic for crying out loud.
So there I stood....looking at that pathetic lunchbox with all of it's white and orangeness mocking me. Truly, foods that are white or orange generally cannot be that good for you. I focused only on the clementines knowing that they were healthy when I realized that they are not organic, just fruit. So I peeled them for her hoping not to get the pesticides on her white bread. CRAP....white bread? Really? What mom serves their children WHITE bread in this century? I'm not even going to comment on the cheetos because we all know that their color is far from natural no matter what you call them. I need to just bow my head in shame with that one. Hey, there is a GRANOLA bar in there........not a natural one or one with no added sugar but one with lots and lots of big ingredients that will guarantee its freshness 5 years from now should she drop it in her locker. I do believe its only "100 calories" though so that's something right?
I'm wondering if I should warn her before she opens the lunchbox? I mean I have a feeling that few of these children have ever seen such artificial treats. What if word gets around school that Rachel's mom packed her an artificial lunch? Her whole high school career might be ruined simply because I packed her lunch????????????
This whole thing is coming about because I read an article today that made me fearful of sleep. It says that I should NEVER use my cell phone as my alarm clock. Well, exactly how do you expect me to get up??? It went onto to say that if your bedroom is on the second floor, you have wiring under your bed and that's not good, that you should remove your tv, cell phone, electrical cords, etc. from your bedroom so you can get a good night's sleep. I was thinking I was tired until I starting stressing about how I could ever get rid of all that wiring. You all know that I tend to eat when I'm stressed so.............
Wonder if we have any Twinkies? Let me check Rachel's lunch ;)
No comments:
Post a Comment