A parent comment from Our Lady of Lourdes

As many of you may know, we prepare lunch a few blocks down the hill at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School. This afternoon as Bridget and I were cleaning up the kitchen a parent and volunteer poked her head in to the kitchen and said, "I just wanted to thank you ladies. I truly appreciate your lunch. I can sleep at the end of the day knowing my kids have had at least one balanced meal." She went on to talk about how busy their family schedule is, making meals rushed and often eaten in the car, with the exception of our lunch.

This comment really hit home for me personally. I recently blogged about a similar topic, where I said, "I sat back one day and watched what I was doing to my kids.
In the morning I would give them frosted flakes or lucky charms, because it was fast, it was easy, and I knew they would eat it. Then they went to preschool where luckily they received a home cooked meal. When I picked them up from school, they were hungry...nearly starving...and they needed a snack. I was tired because I just got off work, so I gave them what they wanted...fruit snacks.

So this day I'd fed my kids frosted flakes and fruit snacks.

Then dinner time would roll around and I had already cooked all day at work, I didn't feel like doing it again. My kids would be hungry, but I wasn't really hungry yet. So I would make them a frozen pizza.

So this day all I'd fed my kids was frosted flakes, fruit snacks and frozen pizza.

I was shocked when I put into perspective. In my mind I was giving them a treat or being lazy just this once...but it turned out I was doing it all day long and every day. I had created this monster of expectation. My kids expected every meal to be a kid friendly, home run."

I'm sure this is something most of us can relate to. Our lives our busy. We all have jobs, children and all sorts of obligations which fill our days completely. Food frequently ends up being the least important aspect of our day, more of an inconvenience then something to celebrate.

I think it's fair to speak for Bridget when I say, we love the opportunity we have here at McGillis to celebrate food with your children.