Breakfast of Champions

If what they say is true about breakfast being the most important meal of the day, then I fail terribly (except on weekends). I am usually so busy first thing in the morning during the school week, hurriedly helping with breakfast and lunches for my three children that I forget about myself. Plus, doesn’t my before bedtime snack of either a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or ice cream still count? Let me share with you what usually happens. I do eat a little bit in the morning, but it’s not the typical breakfast. I end up having a taste of peanut butter while making sandwiches, a few chips, a strawberry or two, maybe some grapes. But I never sit down and have a full meal to start my day. I guess what I’m doing is working out alright because after the kids are at school, I am able to run three miles. And I can make it to 11:00 before I am hungry for lunch.
These quirky early morning habits all began when I started having babies. I nursed all of my children and usually got into a hazy fog around week four of the sleepless nights. So what did I do for a quick energy boost? I would eat something sweet right when I turned on the kitchen light in the morning. Most of the time my sweet treat would be a cookie of some kind. Nicholas, bless his heart, got to the point of grabbing for a cookie, too. This was normal to him! I knew I had to stop the bad habit I was teaching my child, and I did…somewhat.

Let's Do Lunch

I feel like I have gone from one extreme to the other these past couple of days, and, indeed, I have. Yesterday I had lunch with a bunch of loud, energetic noisy first graders, and today I had lunch with a quiet, aching lady~ Ms. Angelle. Looking back on these two very different luncheon experiences, I must admit that my usual peaceful and quiet lunch is something I take for granted.

First, let me share with you how my lunch with Nicholas went. When I met up with Nicholas's class (they were already on their way to lunch), I heard several remarks from the other kids, like "Wow- Nicholas's mom sure is tall," and "Where did she come from?" I got in line with Nicholas and gave him a hug as we proceeded to the cafeteria. Remember that the kids are in a portable school? Well, they have several "dining halls" (portables) and use one per grade level. So when you get @150 six-year-olds together in a small space, the noise level is amplified a hundred times over (or so it seems). A little boy and girl sitting across from Nicholas and I were little chatterboxes and I could barely hear what they were saying, but they kept on talking to me anyway. I had to laugh when the girl said, "I'm supposed to learn to act like I do at school when I'm home." Then, of course, when lunch was over Nicholas pulled the 'wanting to come home' act on me. I reluctantly left anyway and my ears hurt for quite a long time.

My lunch with Ms. Angelle today was completely different than yesterday's lunch at the elementary school. Ms. Angelle loves to go to the Golden Corral. She sat down and waited while I went to fix her a plate. Ms. Angelle asked me to get five corn on the cobs on a separate plate and she ate every last one~in silence, hunched over her plate. I went back and forth five times to get us our various items. The last time was to get six more ears of corn so she could take them home and have them with her chicken tonight. I got some strange looks from the patrons of the restaurant as I hauled all that corn back and forth. She had brought her own tupperware container to put the leftovers in. After lunch, we had to stop by Walgreens so Ms. Angelle could get some razors. "Funny how when you get old, the only place hair grows is on your face," she said. I had to hold up several different kinds of razors before she found what she wanted and then she had the clerk open it for her, so she could check it out. Right there, in the drugstore, Ms. Angelle started shaving her whiskers! Liking the results, she bought two of them. Unlike when I left Nicholas, I must say I was ready to drop Ms. Angelle back at her house. It was an exhausting and humiliating lunch.

Even though the two lunches were different, there is one thing they had in common: I thoroughly enjoyed each one and am so grateful I have the chance to spend time with loved ones.