That's The (Lunch) Ticket!
In the conversation I had with LM the other night about issues at lunch, he mentioned kids eating mozzarella cheese sticks at lunch. I exclaimed, “they serve cheese sticks at hot lunch and you’ve never ordered them!?!?” knowing how much LM LOVES cheese sticks. In all his years of elementary school, he has never, not ONCE ordered a school lunch. As we talked about it, he explained that he was the ONLY child who always packs his lunch, and only one other girl is sometimes a ‘packer’.
That night, the February school lunch calendar came home from school, so I handed it to LM and suggest he look it over. I explained that I’d be more than happy to buy him hot lunch if he preferred. So, he looked over the calendar, and asked for a pencil so he could mark the days he wanted school lunch. When he gave the calendar back to me, EIGHT out of EIGHTEEN school days were circled. So we went from none to nearly half!!
LM then had the concern that he doesn’t have a PIN number, which is how you access your account to buy lunch. I assured him we could find out from the school office just how the whole operation worked and he’d be up to speed in no time. I reminded him that his best friend, Will, gets hot lunch everyday (apparently) so he might be a good one to ask. This idea relieved LM tremendously! He made me promise, however, that I would email the school secretary and ask her how to go about it.
I just received a reply from the school secretary. Apparently LM stopped by the office this morning and asked her himself, which is what I had wanted him to do in the first place. She explained the very simple, straightforward process to both of us so we are all set for hot lunch.
I have to say, that as I think about my morning routine of picking our LM’s lunch, it feels like a milestone of sorts that he’s moving on into the more independent school lunch. He keeps reminding me that he’ll be a WHOLE DECADE OLD this May and I think I’m starting to realize all that it means.
Gone are the days where lunch meant yogurt, carrots, string cheese and trail mix. Welcome in Domino’s pizza, cheeseburgers and a taco bar! Do you think I could order school lunch, too?
That night, the February school lunch calendar came home from school, so I handed it to LM and suggest he look it over. I explained that I’d be more than happy to buy him hot lunch if he preferred. So, he looked over the calendar, and asked for a pencil so he could mark the days he wanted school lunch. When he gave the calendar back to me, EIGHT out of EIGHTEEN school days were circled. So we went from none to nearly half!!
LM then had the concern that he doesn’t have a PIN number, which is how you access your account to buy lunch. I assured him we could find out from the school office just how the whole operation worked and he’d be up to speed in no time. I reminded him that his best friend, Will, gets hot lunch everyday (apparently) so he might be a good one to ask. This idea relieved LM tremendously! He made me promise, however, that I would email the school secretary and ask her how to go about it.
I just received a reply from the school secretary. Apparently LM stopped by the office this morning and asked her himself, which is what I had wanted him to do in the first place. She explained the very simple, straightforward process to both of us so we are all set for hot lunch.
I have to say, that as I think about my morning routine of picking our LM’s lunch, it feels like a milestone of sorts that he’s moving on into the more independent school lunch. He keeps reminding me that he’ll be a WHOLE DECADE OLD this May and I think I’m starting to realize all that it means.
Gone are the days where lunch meant yogurt, carrots, string cheese and trail mix. Welcome in Domino’s pizza, cheeseburgers and a taco bar! Do you think I could order school lunch, too?
Comments
Katie is on a gluten-free, casein-free diet, so she'll always be a "packer", since schools don't cater to that (admittedly difficult) dietary restriction.
When I was growing up, I LOVED Friday pizza days. It wasn't Domino's, though, and I'm pretty sure I couldn't stomach what used to pass for pizza now!
But after your description of independent lunches vs. what you pack... you may want to keep packing for him. Yogurt and trail mix seems much healthier than pizza and tacos.
Mmmm now I'm hungry for lunch.