It's Friday...where are the lunchboxes?

I pack the kids their lunches pretty much everyday.  I broke down and started to do it once I realized it doesn't take up that much more morning time.  I figured, if they are gonna eat junk for lunch, at least it's junk from home.

Initially, my big battle was for the kids to return the boxes to me, so I could refreeze their cold packs.  (A necessity here in AZ, like air conditioning and sunglasses.)  It got to be ridiculous, my foot stomping and cursing when they'd forget.  My morning would become an episode of Magyver, with me fashioning an ice pack out of common household chemicals and duct tape.  (Really just a baggie within a baggie and regular ice, don't bring it back home to me.) Arrrgh--They couldn't remember, I couldn't remember...the punishment was "you have to eat at school, then" but I thought about it.  I felt like this was a battle not worth fighting, not when the remedy was so easy. 

I bought some more freezer packs, so that would no longer be an issue.

My morning irritation-stress-level dropped enough so that I could actually enjoy our time together in the morning.  So zen.

Anyway, this last Monday, I looked for Ben's lunchbox, and it wasn't in the usual spot in the pantry.  I asked him to bring it to me, *deep breath* not-a-big-deal in my voice.  He brought it to me, and with a little dread, I realized it felt a bit heavier than it should.

Cautiously, I opened his lunchbox.

I think you know where this is going.

I looked inside, and there sat....half a tuna sandwich.

That I'd packed on Friday.

All I can say is that I have never been more grateful for the power of Ziploc, the ingenuity of cold packs, and the miracle of air-conditioning.

I also found another application for Lamaze breathing.