My mom packed me a sandwich (roast beef, turkey, or PB&J) in a lunchbox for most of my elementary school career. I don’t remember what else she threw in, but I know there were sides. Even though one of the boys in my class always got teased because his mother wrote him long notes in his lunch every day, part of me wished my mom would’ve tucked a note or two in my lunchbox. (Not a long missive like that kid had! That was too much!) But honestly, I’m not complaining because my mom drove me to and from school every day. She was always there for me and still is. She may not have packed the most exciting lunches, but I was well-nourished and happy.
Nowadays, there’s a whole lunchbox culture. It seems to live on Pinterest and on blogs (though I’ve seen glimpses of it on Twitter.) If you don’t know what I’m talking about, go to Pinterest, type in something like school lunch for kids and you’ll be inundated with intricate lunch boxes filled with cutely designed sandwiches, fruit, and vegetables. I admire the book-themed lunches, the lunches that look like animals, and the lunches that are in the shape of cartoon characters. They’re adorable. Really they are. Heck, I even started my own Pinterest board devoted to school lunches. BUT, I don’t have the desire to spend what little free time I have making a cute school lunch. (Plus, I’m not THAT artistic!) Also, I’ve purchased a cute looking sandwich at a children’s museum before. Its appearance didn’t make her more apt to eat it. (NOTE: We bribed her to eat that adorable sandwich!) So…
I bought a bento style lunchbox for Isabelle and figured I’d do my best. I packed her first school lunch last night. (She’s staying late at preschool today.) I had high hopes for myself, especially after exchanging tweets with Nina from Mamabelly yesterday. In reality, I packed something healthy, but not that cute. See:
This lunch may not be Pinterest-worthy, but since it contains some purple (Isabelle’s favorite color) chocolate gems candies for dessert AND a short note, I think my kiddo will be well-fed and happy.
Raising Literate Humans 