High school at the best of times can be challenging. You have to juggle class, homework, a social life and, everything in between.
That doesn’t always line up with the brain of a teen and what they see as priorties.
Like for example, eating lunch.
When I was in high school during olden times as my teens refer to it, my mom made my lunch every day. It was the classic brown-bagging scenario that you see in old TV shows.
I never bought lunch, cause I did not have money. And if I did get the odd dollar, I would save it for another day.
My daily lunch consisted of a sandwich, a pop, and two desserts. Yep, pretty healthy eh? The sandwich was either plain cheese or lunch meat and cheese. Looking back through a parent lens, it’s shocking I never had fruit or vegetables included. I guess times were different? Maybe parent guilt wasn’t a thing?
Anyways, I was taken care of. I had lunch every day because I did not have to worry about it. It was sitting on the counter every morning for me to grab and go.
Fast forward a million years, and this past week I started doing the same for my oldest teen.
For the past few years, he has either made lunch himself before school or he bought lunch with a weekly amount that was meant for cafeteria food, or, as it turns out, the local 711 or Tims.
But this year, there is a school trip that is being saved up for, so part of that was not getting lunch money, and the plan was to brown bag it.
Intentions started strong. Groceries were bought, and the plan was made.
But as you remember when you were a teen, mornings can be hard when you are tired and just trying to get out the door.
Lunches were not being made. There was no money to spend. So what was happening at lunch?
Well, last week, our oldest would come home starving. Basically eating a whole meal two hours before dinner.
Turns out he was not eating lunch. Not really on purpose, due to being busy with various things. But I think the hunger pangs really hit around 1:30 pm and when your belly is empty, it’s hard to pay attention.
I asked my son about this, and when it was determined that he wasn’t eating lunch, I decided it was time to turn back the clock to when I was in high school. Time to lend a helping hand.
This past week, I have been making him a lunch to take. Nothing fancy. Sandwiches and snacks he likes.
The deal was I would do it temporarily to help him get back in the routine of taking a lunch. So hopefully he will also get back in the routine of making his own lunch.
Based on feedback on how good the sandwiches have been, I may have taken on more than I hoped.
It just makes me happy to know he is eating lunch and isn’t coming home starving.
I never had to worry about lunch during high school, and seeing as I am writing a blog post about it, the gesture stuck with me.
To this day, my long-time friends still comment on how crazy my lunches were in high school.
For the teen parents out there, do you make their lunches? Do you give them money to buy food? Or do your teens make their own lunches?
