Late with the Lunchbox

The kids went back to school today, and my brain is slowly waking up from its summery haze, still smelling vaguely like sunblock.  Logistics are flying left and right as I try to remember how to do all the things School Year Mom does.

One thing I didn’t even attempt this week was one of SYM’s harder events: packing the lunch.  I remembered to fill out the emergency medical forms.  I got the breakfast eaten, the teeth brushed, and the hair combed before they went out the door.  But I had already determined that for these first few days of school, I couldn’t scale the wall of Lunch Packing.  And since the school has a terrific lunch lady and a full salad bar, I didn’t fuss about it.

But at the last minute, I remembered that my little one needed Snack.  That’s when I realized just how deep in summer I’ve been.  There are no little granola bars baked up for little hands, and I didn’t even have oats in the house.  I forgot to freeze the ice packs to keep a yogurt cool. We’re almost out of her favorite nuts. Fortunately, I had some grapes on hand.  That and the last few salty peanuts could pass for Snack, even if it’s not anybody’s favorite.

By next week, I’m sure I’ll have it together.  I might even have made the bread and the egg salad for her favorite lunch.  I’ll find my old favorite granola recipe on EYB.  I’ll be used to being up by 5 and caffeinated by 6.  As for the obvious question:  why do you still make lunch for your kids in the first place when the school has a perfectly good lunch program?  I don’t know, or maybe I don’t remember.  Ask School Year Mom.  She should be back online next week.