I know I’ve said this before BUT, I love Aleisha and her writing is just inspiring. I’m so thrilled she comes to share with us every month!
Aleisha is almost due with her third baby so, we won’t be hearing from her for a couple of months BUT wish her and her cute family the best 🙂
My first-born, brown-eyed babe started first grade this year. And here I thought sending her off to kindergarten was hard. No, no, no, no, no! I’m here to tell you that kindergarten “ain’t got nothin'” on first grade!
She is gone all day. (Leaving me to watch the clock, pace the halls, and wonder what to do with myself!) She is eating lunch at school, when she’d always been my lunch buddy. And she is riding the bus home. With sixth graders. SIXTH GRADERS! (Um…have you seen how big sixth graders are? They’re huge!)
Speaking of eating lunch at school… Ms. Lilly refuses to eat “hot lunch” or school lunch. Every morning, bright and early, sleepy-eyed and not quite coherent, I stumble into the kitchen to pack her Hello Kitty lunch box. I remember the juice box and the dessert (her favorite items), and the pink napkin. I tuck the small baggie of chips next to the PB&J. The last item I pack is the most important. (At least for me, any way.)
The love note!
Do you pack love notes in your children’s lunch boxes?!
When I was in elementary school and middle school, I frequently brought
lunches from home. My “Mama Jenneice” would lovingly pack a lunch of tuna fish sandwiches and Cheetos for me almost every day. As I got a bit older, I would open my
brown paper lunch sack and find any one of a variety of
sandwiches–turkey and roast beef, ham and cheese on a
hoagie. Sometimes I would find crackers or chips. Sometimes
there was a banana in the bottom of the bag. Sometimes I discovered a brownie waiting for me.
BUT, no matter the contents of my lunch, I ALWAYS found a love note! (My mother’s love notes were written on the napkins that accompanied my lunches.)
The napkins in the photo are easily fifteen to twenty years old. I have kept them and treasured them for a very long time.
Why?
Because they are a symbol of my mother’s love for me. They represent her thoughtfulness, and her willingness to do something extra kind for me. In their simplicity they convey volumes. They say: “I see you.
I care about you. I am thinking about you. I’m here for you. I love
you.” They are evidence I was raised by a good woman–one who worked
hard to put family first; one who was unwaveringly dedicated to her
calling of “mother.”
And most importantly, they now remind me of the
kind of mother I want to be like…
To my “growing-up-too-fast” first-grader!
Thanks so much to Aleisha for sharing her touching Lunch Boxes and Love Notes!
I remember doing this for my kiddos when they were young and they loved it. I still like to give them little love notes even now 🙂
I hope you enjoy more reading from Aleisha’s or visit her at www.shecallsmemamaleisha.com
Have a super awesome Friday and a really great weekend!
xoxo~ Aleisha and Ruthie
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