Earlier this week, a sign-up sheet appeared at the entrance of the kids' school. "Join us for a Fiesta Lunch on Friday, September 20th," it said, followed by a series of lines for people to write their names, what classes their kid(s) was (were) in and number of people coming with them for this lunch.
I immediately planted the seed in my head that I would be dining with my kids on the 20th, and a couple of days later actually signed up for it. Friday would be a work from home day, and a day that I'd loosen the strings on the diet I had started a couple of weeks ago so that I could eat this Fiesta Lunch with my kids.
Other than the Fiesta Lunch starting at 11:30am and a pretty good guess that we'd be eating some form of Tex Mex or Mexican food, I had no expectations around the lunch and, as a result, no plan (again, other than to get to school at 11:30am for the start). Would there be tables set up outside for all of us to eat together? In the hallways? Would I eat separately with each of my kids? Which kid would I start with?
I walked into the school with another set of parents and was directed to a table just inside the front door to the school. On this table was our Fiesta Lunch -- grab a plate and make yourself a taco salad. Yum. I love taco salads, and I thought they did a good job with the supplies. Chips and guac, chips and salsa. Taco meat. Lettuce. Ripe tomatoes. Shredded cheese. Even sour cream. The only thing that could have made it better in my mind would have been some black olives.
We were to grab a plate, assemble our taco salads and then take it to our kids' rooms to eat with them. They had the same meal in their rooms; and in some cases, a little extra where a parent or two made a special "here's-what-we-eat-at-home" bonus to lunch.
The table was right outside of Cal's room, so my plan started naturally coming together as I waited in line behind another mom and Cal's classmate's grandmother to fix my plate. I'd fix myself half of a lunch, go eat with Cal and then fix myself the second half and go eat with Ella. The only downside of that plan is that Ella may wonder where I am as she eats her lunch without me by her side. She'd have to be okay with it.
So I proceeded to do that. My half lunch in hand, I went into Cal's room and was immediately invited to sit next to him along with 5 or so of his other friends at his table. Another mom sat at the other tables with a different crew, and a dad was helping the teachers serve food to the kids.
It's never super comfortable sitting at the tables in the kids' rooms for any amount of time. Afterall, they're kid-sized tables and kid-sized chairs. To survive, I break the "sit-like-a-lady" rules my mother taught me and sit with my legs spread wide and my back and shoulders slouched over my plate and my elbows on my knees, which reach higher than the table.
We had a nice lunch, Cal, his friends and I. I learned that Ethan's dad is in New York and his grandmother would be picking him up from school that day. I learned Aria's phone number and that Cal wanted to schedule a play date with her. And they all wanted me to get Ella to join us.
My lunch with Cal finished (which is not to suggest he actually ate his lunch), I decided it was time I go eat with Ella. I headed back out to the table of food, put the exact same combo of taco salad supplies on my plate and then headed down to Ella's room.
She was so happy and excited to see me as I entered her room. Apparently, she had been wondering where I was and had been reassured by her teacher that I'd be there. She had a full plate of lettuce and taco meat in front of her, and she, like Cal, invited me to sit next to her at her table along with her friends. She was at the head of the table, a little boy was to her right, Keira was to his right, and then next to Keira was Colton and his daddy. A fine crew.
I assumed the same unladylike position that I had in Cal's room and ate my lunch. I told Ella "eat your lunch, Boo Boo" several times. She didn't. She did eat a piece of lettuce and a couple of chips from my plate; but the meat on he plate went untouched after she declared it was "too spicy" and "grody."
With the girls lining up to go to ballet (we have not yet signed our poor Ella up for the class despite her pleas that we do), I decided to take Ella down to Cal's room for a little more together time. So we did. Cal was sitting where I left him, now eating a thing of jello brought in by a parent. I thought it was interesting that he was eating an orange one -- he NEVER eats the orange fruit snacks, always giving those to me. Anyway, Ella was offered a jello and chose black cherry. Neither finished the jello, so I did (I really hate wasting food).
Cal asked me to read a book, so I did. Ella had a different book in her hand and asked to bring it back to her room, and I told her no. I then took Ella back to her room where her teacher was setting up cots for naptime. Ella offered to help her and did so after giving me a high-five through the window to the room. This has become our morning goodbye bit.
I headed back to Cal's room to say goodbye to him, and we had a dramatic goodbye. No tears; just several kisses, high fives, hugs and "bye Mommy-bye Cal-love yous."
And that's a recap of our much anticipated Fiesta Lunch -- it was a real treat!
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