Lunch Packing

I pack Neal's lunch every night for work the next day. It's a chore that I both despise AND take pride in. Neal requires a lot of nourishment to get him through his 10-hour day. And he's quite particular about certain proteins, minerals and vitamins being included in his diet. For instance, yogurt and a banana after his safety meeting every morning, to give him the potassium and calcium needed to sustain him until lunch. One morning, I was out of bananas, but was saved by the fact that the yogurt I packed was "strawberry-banana." Whew! His lunch also routinely includes: 2 sandwiches, natural almonds and walnuts, an apple or orange or peach, and a bag of grapes. Sometimes I will add some watermelon or canteloupe. Lately, we've had homegrown tomatoes from our garden and occasionally I'll include a tomato for him to slice and put on his sandwiches.

My mom and dad were here recently and we were laughing about some of the "surprises" she had put in Dad's lunch over the years. Once, he bit into a sandwich to find the paper label of the bologna still stuck to the piece of meat. Another time, they had leftover barbecue and she packed a bun but forgot to include the barbecue, so he had a dry bun for lunch!

Last night, as we were having dinner, I proudly asked Neal how he liked the tomato I so lovingly had packed in his lunch that day. "Oh, I loved it," he said, "but I wasn't quite sure what to do with the worm that was zipped up in my sandwich bag." Now, the tomato was worm-free, and the sandwich was zipped up tight in the bag. I have no idea how a worm found its way into the bag, but maybe I need to start making sure I have my glasses on when I prepare his lunch at night! Well...he DID say he needed to start adding more protein to his diet.