spynotes ::
  May 02, 2007
What's for lunch

AJ had a play date with his new best friend, B, this morning. Unlike most of his school friends, B doesn't live in our neighborhood and he takes the bus to school, which meant that arranging a play date has been a little challenging.

We arrived at the appointed time and B was waiting at the window, waving madly, just as AJ would have been doing if B had been coming to our house. I stayed to chat with B's mom for a couple of minutes and while we were talking, an alarm clock suddenly started to go off. She laughed and apologized.

"B was asking every two minutes if it was time for AJ to come so I finally set the alarm for him."

It's something AJ would have done too. And the alarm? It's something I HAVE done. This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

In addition to play dates with new friends, AJ has been very excited about his new lunchbox, which arrived on Monday. I have been eyeing this particular lunchbox ever since I got turned onto Jennifer McCann's blog,vegan lunchbox a year or so ago, long before I had any need for lunchbox creativity. I am not vegan. I am not even a vegetarian anymore (I've been dragged back to the dark side by my carnivorous husband), but it doesn't matter. McCann's blog is infectious in its desire to create healthy food that is also fun. McCann began by chronicling her son's first year of packed lunches. Every day she'd photograph her creation and write about it. Her goal was to fight the common tendency for people to assume veganism is about deprivation and show that vegan food is not only nourishing but also fun to cook and to eat. And while I'm not sure she's totally convinced me to go vegan, she has convinced me to try harder to be creative with food.

AJ isn't so interested in all this, although the lunchbox did come with a book that talks about reducing waste (part of the reason for a bento-style lunchbox is to have reusable containers rather than waste-creating plastic bags and wraps) and also about eating a varied and nutritious diet, which AJ and I have been looking at together. But he loves his lunchbox for the object it is and he will interject comments about it's fabulousness into any conversation.

"It's my favorite color!" (blue)

"I love how I can carry it in my hand or over my shoulder!"

"Look! There's a place to write my name!"

"Aren't the fork and spoon cool? They have stars and you can see through them. AND they're my favorite color"

"Isn't the little computer guy [the laptop lunches logo] cute?"

"Aren't the containers so colorful?"

"I love my new lunchbox!"

So yesterday we decided to try out the new lunchbox. It was a beautiful day so I packed his lunch in the little containers and threw lunch for Mr. Spy and I into a bag and we drove to a nearby forest preserve with a picnic bench on a bend in the river. AJ ate his sandwich and his strawberries and looked for turtles and frogs in the sand. He ate crackers and cucumbers and watched the boats go by and stomped in the grass like a dinosaur. Afterward we walked back along the winding trail to the car, listening to the redwing blackbirds calling to each other throatily.

"You know what the best thing about my new lunchbox is?"

"What?"

"It s mine!"

3 people said it like they meant it

 
:: last :: next :: random :: newest :: archives ::
:: :: profile :: notes :: g-book :: email ::
::rings/links :: 100 things :: design :: host ::

(c) 2003-2007 harri3tspy

<< chicago blogs >>