The Middle School cafeteria peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The ultimate humiliation if your lunch money account runs low.
Yes, I admit – I did it. Even in the computer age when lunch money is virtual, via an account on the school computer, accessed by the student’s account number, and even when the school sends me an email when the lunch money account is low, I can still find a way to be human and put my child through that embarrassment of embarrassments – having to eat the provided sack lunch that the kids who forgot their lunch money have to eat.
When I was in school, the coins for lunch money came from a small basket of change my mom kept on the shelf in the laundry room above the dryer. I think the only thing we got to eat if we forgot our money was……….nothing?
I simply didn’t see my reminder note on Wednesday. And only three days after Mother’s Day, I failed in my mission to protect my child from mortification. (Do I have to give my presents back?)
For a twelve-year-old girl who doesn’t want to stand out from the crowd, and who doesn’t even like PB&J, Wednesday’s lunch was quite the mortification.
But one good thing about it – at least the free school lunch was the significant emotional experience my daughter needed to do her job of remembering she was out of lunch money. She took responsibility and got that lunch money as soon as I got home from work.
Amazing what kids will remember to do to avoid being disgraced in front of their friends. :o)
