I started back to work last week, and as an accomodation to Julie (so that she can work at the school also, and I can deliver her to the bus stop in time for her to make her afternoon classes), I changed my schedule. Now I arrive when the kids do, and my first assignment of the day is to monitor the lunchroom.
Except it's breakfast being served.
And for some inexplicable reason, I have found the entire process very sad. I've been trying to figure it out.
I have fond memories of school lunchrooms past, when we were served split pea soup--which looked awful and I never dared taste! I remember the delicious aroma of rolls baking during the morning hours, wafting through the halls, as I suffered through math and science. I remember thick slices of bread, spread with peanut butter. I remember mashed potatoes smothered in some kind of gravy that I thought was quite tasty. We had real trays in those days, with real forks and spoons, which we emptied in a garbage can and placed on a conveyor belt to be sprayed and disinfected, readied for the next day. There wasn't a yogurt option, or a PB & J option, and you didn't get to pick out your sides in neat little containers with lids. All the food looked homemade. It looked like something that might have come out of anybody's mom's kitchen. Not McDonalds or Subway. We did have chocolate milk, though. The one thing that remains the same.
But I've gotten sidetracked with my memories, because this blog isn't about the lunchroom being used for lunch. It's about it being used for breakfast. And for some crazy reason, it strikes me as sad, that all those kids who are lined up with their styrofoam trays filled with cocoa puffs and pop tarts were dropped off at the school hungry.
It's not logical, I know. There's nothing superior about the cocoa puffs Andrew gulps down at our house. (If I were serving oatmeal, that might be an issue, but let's be honest!) Even our conversation, which consists mostly of me saying, "Don't talk; you're going to be late!" isn't anything to write home about.
And I do understand why the parents opt for school breakfast. For many--maybe most in my school, it's because it's free. I understand that better than I wish I did. For others, maybe it's an issue of time. Mom and Dad have to be at work early; the kids can eat at school. And sometimes I'm sure some of the kids are at home begging--they just plain like it better than the home rations. They like it; it's cheap; why not?
But whatever the reason, there's something inside of me that feels a little sad. Like we're giving something up. Feeding our children seems like our most basic parental responsibility. Lunchtime makes sense--afterall, they're all ready there. But breakfast--for some reason I can't quite put my finger on, it just feels right to send my son out the door with a kiss, a prayer, and a full tummy.
6 comments:
The kiss, the prayer (where they are reminded that they are loved and that they are being watched over), the full tummy, and the knowing that Mom is there coordinating it all is pretty important. When I was little it was so devastating to come home to an empty house. It rarely happened. Sometimes my mom just had an errand to finish up and was a bit late. But still that let down sad feeling would be there. It must feel like a room full of sad let down kids.
I think it is sad too. (Sad too that kids eat total CRAP these days. )
i agree that the lunchroom in GENERAL is a very sad thing these days. the food is not healthy and not even the good kind of not healthy. it's just gross. or maybe that was the days when i was going to school. now it seems like they have so many options. but probably still total crap. anyway, very sad that so many kids don't have a mom at home making (or at least pouring, right?) breakfast for them.
Good points! I agree... that picture does seem a little sad. Both the food and lack of eating at home and starting the day off right. To quote a well known talk, its all about the crossroads, right?
It is sad. I hate seeing the kids at school that you know are getting more nourishment from the lunchroom ladies than they are from their own parents. And I agree with Anna. Kids need to see their parents (mom) as a central role in the planning and coordinating. I LOVED having my mom teach piano because it meant she was home whenever I needed her. And it meant that I got to walk home from school and smell fresh-baked cookies every now and then.
The more we use societal institutions instead of the family to meet the needs of a child the worse this world gets. I don't know that breakfast in and of itself is WRONG to get at school. But it's just one more thing. How many more ways can we remove parents from taking care of their children's wants and needs? It's been very interesting to me to watch Jo as she develops an imagination and the ability to play on her own. EVERYTHING she plays is framed by the terms she understands. Family. Everything. Every toy is a dad, mom, or baby. That's is. And they all take care of each other (or punish... lots of time outs). I just think that's cool.
I totally agree with you... on everything. I too remember the smells of homemade lunches and the real trays and real silverware. I've gone and had lunch with my kid a few times at school and am pretty disgusted at what they are eating. Everything comes in a bag that's been nuked and its just plain gross. When my kids discovered that there was breakfast offered at school they got all excited! And I said, Umm, no, we are eating breakfast at home, sorry. To me that is 20 more minutes that I get to have with them. (also agree that sometimes its Cocoa puffs :))
I think it is so sad how the world has changed in the last few years. Sad that mothers are now working, and the lack of "family time" families are having. Times are changing, and its sad.
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