The Chicken Patty Meltdown

Oh man, y’all lunch time at school is killin’ me. I have never actually experienced lunch at the Big One’s school but I have heard from other parents and teachers that it’s a bit chaotic. There are kids everywhere, lots of noise and just utter craziness. For my child who is really sensitive to chaos and noise, it’s a nightmare for her.

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We’ve had several days where she has cried at the mere thought of going to school and enduring the lunchtime madness. It’s especially hard after a vacation or long weekend. She has been getting better though and last week even bought lunch one day. Her teacher (who I love, love, love) actually walked through the lunch line with the Big One to help her feel more at ease.  She ate her chicken nuggets and way beyond thrilled when she got home to tell me all about it.

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Yesterday was Tuesday and according to the schedule one of the lunch options on Tuesdays is chicken patty sandwiches. Armed with her newfound lunchtime confidence, the Big One announced that she wanted to buy lunch. I was thrilled. How many Go-Gurts can a kid really eat in a lifetime?

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I had no idea that because of the Monday holiday, the lunch menu changes. UGH! Are you freaking kidding me? I still don’t understand how it works. One teacher told me everything is pushed back a day, so Monday’s scheduled meals are served on Tuesday, Tuesday’s meals are available on Wednesday, etc. But then another told me, that no it’s just Tuesday that is off.

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Regardless of how it works, my child went into total meltdown mode when she was told there were no chicken patty sandwiches. Now y’all know she is a picky eater, so when the options were a three-bean chili tostada, teriyaki beef dippers with rice, chicken and cheese quesadilla or the salad bar; the kid was plum out of luck.

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Again, thank God for her teacher (really, bless this woman!), the Big One ate pretzels for lunch. I don’t know though if I will ever be able to convince her to buy lunch again. Today she opted for cold pancakes in her lunch box.   Now my mission is to find some kind of insulated thing that will keep some chicken or pizza warm until lunch time.