Making His Lunch

I've learned a lot in the past week. It's the one reason I had a passion for taing before... because to some kids, school is the best part of their lives. Any encouragement, accolade, or treat they get there could be the only they get... period. You see this is all kinds of ways, but particularly, by kids who bring their sack lunch.
Now, don't get me wrong... there's nothing wrong with the hot lunch line. And believe it or not, some of the food actually looks pretty good, but when the school is serving scoop burgers, or whatever other food a child may hate for that matter, and a parent packs a lunch for the kiddo, well, THAT, is special. While standing at the sack lunch table last week I took a peek into some kids home lives. Little notes from mom, a sandwich with the crust cut off, orange slices, an extra thing of fruit snacks, even strawberry milk in some... that's my kind of lunch. And in an incredible, indirect way, that sack lunch says, "I know you, I love you, and I cared enough to take the time for you today. I hope it makes your day better." (Of course, I never realized this until I became a parent.)
Tonight, though B may be only 10 1/2 months, I stood over his diaper bag, packing into it what he'll eat for his breakfast and lunch at the sitter's tomorrow. It's a new nightly task that I loathe on one hand (it's something else to add to my already full day), but I cherish on the other. Though this little boy will never know, nor remember, that I put the effort and care into his lunch when he went to the sitters, it was my way, as a mother, to show my child that I love him, I care what he eats, and though I'm not with him, I wish, desperately, that I could be. I make sure not to pack the same thing two days in a row, that I know he'll enjoy it, and I try to throw in a little treat... it's his little "note" from mom. So tomorrow, I hope as B eats his cheerios and pineapple for breakfast, and his green beans, cheese (portioned the way he likes it), and orange jello (there's that little treat) makes him think, if even for a second, of his momma packed that lunch with every bit of love she possibly could.