(This post was originally written in September 2010; Copyright (c) 2010 Cynthia Shenette)
"But mom, juice boxes are so kindergarten."
So said my son a while back. Who knew? I wondered why he kept bringing juice boxes home in his lunch box every day rather than drinking them. Apparently, when you're in second grade, squishy pack drinks are way more cool. Sometimes I have trouble trying to keep up with what's in and what's out snack-wise, AND keep it healthy. "Flavor Blasted" Pepperidge Farm Goldfish, in. Regular Pepperidge Farm Goldfish, out. Sweets, in. Yogurt, out. Fruit, definitely out. How can I compete? "Mom, did you know Johnny has a Cosmic Brownie for morning snack. A Cosmic Brownie," he adds for emphasis. At 10:20 in the morning? I don't think so. "But mom, they're cosmic." Yeah, right. They might be cosmic but they're not gonna happen, and certainly not at 10:20 in the morning.
Believe me, I feel his pain. You see, I was a lunch box trader. There, I said it. You probably knew a kid like me--the pathetic kid with the apple. Yup, that was me. I was the kid sitting at that table in the gymacafatorium with my bruised apple rolling around at the bottom of my metal Peanuts lunch box. Squished tuna sandwich wrapped in wax paper. No mayo. Frozen milk bought at school. No soda for this kid. Mom was a woman ahead of her time. She wanted me to be healthy. I just wanted a Twinkie. Oh, how I envied those kids with the Twinkies. Why couldn't I have a Twinkie like everyone else?
Years later, when I was in my twenties, I finally confessed to my mom about the trading thing. She was shocked. Shocked! "Some kid was perfectly happy to get that apple," she said. Frankly, I could never figure out why anybody wanted my apple. Actually, I still can't. Even today, given the choice of a Twinkie or an apple, I'd go with the Twinkie in a heartbeat if I didn't know any better. Today we have cholesterol. Ah, those innocent days of youth.
I hate to admit it, but yes, I've become my mother. Once I became a mom I knew it was just a matter of time. I hear stuff coming out of my mouth that my mother use to say. And despite that, NO, my son will NOT be taking a Cosmic Brownie for morning snack. I don't care if everyone does it. NO Cosmic Brownie. End of story.
What was in your lunch box? Were you the apple, or were you the Twinkie? I really want to know...
Submitted for the 122nd edition of the Carnival of Genealogy.
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About Me
- Cynthia Shenette
- A long-time librarian, I am mostly of Polish, Acadian, and French-Canadian descent. I have started this blog to share and acquire genealogical knowledge, achieve inner peace, and perhaps realize my ultimate quest, to find two ancestors with the same surname who actually spelled their surnames exactly the same way...
9 comments:
I went home for lunch everyday, so no trading.
I never traded lunch box (or in my case, brown bag) items. Not that I couldn't have, because my mom packed both an apple (or some other fruit) and a Tweenkie (or more likely cookies) in my bag. And I ate bologna with mayo on white bread sandwiches everyday except the Fridays during lent when I got tuna salad with mayo. :-)
Thanks for sharing and participating in the COG!
I had school dinners for the first few years, then packed lunches. I can't remember what was on my sandwiches but I used to swop half of them for corned beef and beetroot sandwiches. Sometimes there would be a packet of crisps or a bashed banana as well. Latterly we had a cafeteria which mainly doled out pizza, chips and beans :-) tasty but not very healthy! Jo
"gymacafatorium" - LOL - that's classic!
I also went home for lunch in grade school, so no trades. My mother probably would have given me an apple though, and my Nan would have taken it out and given me a Twinkie-equivalent (Philadelphia consumes TastyKakes!). In high school I remember eating Devil Dogs for breakfast - that's why I had acne from ages 12 to 24. Stick to your guns with the Cosmic Brownie, he'll thank you later!
Great story and it brought back memories of my school lunch days. We mostly brought lunches. But in Intermediate School I was able to trade on "Ranch-Style Beans" day with Diane Hood. I loved those beans and she loved the Portuguese Sweetbread with butter that was in my lunch. Those lunch ladies back in the sixties sure made delicious lunches. Not like the microwave food served to kids today.
I usually took my lunch, could not stand the school lunches. I made my own lunch most of the time, had a lot of peanut butter sandwiches, and usually a cookie sometimes some fruit. Bought milk at school.
I bought lunches for the most part until HS, then enjoyed the vending machines... candy and coke, until I could drive then we drove to the local burger joint and got lunch...
So much different today.
Love your story and the previous posts.
FranE
Loved your story! I brought bagged lunches to school in grade 7, but didn't trade - I gave - my peanut butter cookies. The boy who sat in front of me in class was dreamy ... and I wanted to be liked, so, when I found out that PB cookies were Joey's favorite, I'd make sure to always offer them to him whenever my Mom packed them in my lunch.
When I was a kid, I usually had the school lunch--but now I always take my lunch to work.
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