Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Paper Cheese



Today I was told a story that made me laugh really hard but also made me think about something.  A daughter came into my office today, her name will be changed to protect the innocent, we shall call her Chesson, and told me a story from earlier in the week.  Chesson is a freshman in high school and this is was her fifth day of school.  She was telling me how she gets up at six o clock every morning to get ready for school.  Earlier in the week, her mother made her lunch.  They have the deli style cheese that is packed in a bag but with a piece of paper between each slice.  Her mother made her a sandwich and some other things, packed it up for her and sent her off to school.
At lunch time, Chesson, remember this is not her real name, sat with her friend and pulled out her lunch.  Excited to dig into her sandwich she took a bite and as she started to chew, she noticed something was wrong.  Pulling something out of her mouth, she realized it was a white paper like substance.  Upon further examination and consulting with her friend, she realized that it was the piece of paper that is between slices in her pack of cheese at home.  Pulling her sandwich apart, she came to the realization that the entire piece of paper was in her sandwich, hence paper cheese. 
When she told me this story I died laughing because I know the mom personally so I had to call her and ask her about paper cheese.  She laughed at me and told me that Chesson had brought the piece of paper home with her to show her mom.  That made me laugh even harder, the fact that she had saved it to prove to her mom what she had done.  The best part of the story is that there was the bite mark and corner bitten off where Chesson had bit into her sandwich.   That is awesome!
Later in the day I was sitting and listen to them talk about it because of course I won’t let it go and kept bringing it up.  The mom exclaimed that Chesson, again not her real name, could get up earlier and make her own lunches if she didn’t like what her mom made her.  Laughing, both Chesson and I agreed that there was no way she could get up any earlier, Chesson is not a morning person, and then mom realized what she said and laughed too.
What I realized is that making kids their lunches is something that is done by millions of moms every day.  Although it is considered part of being a mom to get up ahead of kids and make their lunches for school, they do it with joy and love in their heart.  I loved when my mom made me lunch.  Some moms include a piece of paper with an I love you note on it in their kids lunches.  Although I am sure most of the time it is not attached to the cheese and in the middle of the sandwich.  But we all make mistakes and the time and energy that went into making that sandwich far outweighs the mistake.  I wish my mom could still make my lunches; life would be so much easier.
So with that I say to you, youth, embrace your mothers and fathers for making your lunches.  Love whatever they put in your lunch boxes, but most of all love them for putting together your lunch and everything they do for you.  Parents just because I told the youth to love whatever you put in their lunch boxes doesn’t mean that you can slack off and put paper cheese in their sandwich or give them tuna for that matter and expect them to love you for it.  Give them something good and good for them.  Write an I love you note and add it to their lunch.  Cherish these opportunities to show your love to your kids through their lunches and lunch boxes.  This is one of the small things in life that often gets overlooked and taken for granted. 
Hopefully Chesson, again still not her real name, will get a note from mom instead of a piece of paper cheese.  Love you both with all my heart and thank you for letting me share this funny little story!  Even though I didn’t ask if I could!

No comments:

Post a Comment