by Alysa Leier
The strangest things come out of my kids’ mouths sometimes. One kid uses “technically” in the wrong context, constantly; the other only half-listens to what is being said and then pipes in with his two cents and it really isn’t what we are talking about. But the craziest thing happened just yesterday, and I was completely flabbergasted when my son (he’s 7 and a randomly-picky eater) said to us, “I don’t even like your meatloaf. The school’s is way better.” Hold up. Say WHAT?! This is NOT a thing people say. I would have never imagined any kid saying this. Who in their right mind would say that they actually like school food? Apparently my kid. Ugh.
But I must be doing something right, because this COVID-19 school closure came right on the heels of spring break for us, and yesterday I did my second grocery store run (it’s completely true what you’re seeing on Facebook: the stocks of essentials are like a barren wasteland, but hey, I could have gotten some TP if I needed it).
I’m torn between, “Are they starving my kids at school?” and, “How many snacks do they give them during the day?” Don’t get me wrong. I’ve always been a SAHM and our grocery runs pretty much double the second the kids get out for summer break, but I feel like this is a little more than normal. Maybe it’s dual growth spurts that seem to be hitting simultaneously. Or are they stress-eating like their mama? Perhaps they are just bored? I definitely heard that word before noon on Monday, the first day of a governor-imposed week-long school shutdown.
“I’m hungry. Can I have a snack?” I am not kidding, this entire phrase was just spoken to me, not even an hour after lunch. We have always been an “unstructured” family. Routine is not really a thing for us during the spring and summer, especially when it comes to meals. Who knows when we will be done in the field for the day? And even though we are smack dab in the middle of the school year, this little break has morphed into a pseudo-summer for us.
When everyone gets hungry, we make a meal. If not, you have a healthy snack or two and drink water before eating something that’s junk. But this is temporary, really, and how many snacks would they be getting if they were at school? Do they even get snacks at school? I don’t want them to get used to being able to eat whenever they want when they’ll hopefully be back in school next week. But I digress.
Maybe they’re actually hungry. I guess I’ll just let them eat.
Alysa Leier is the NDFB Promotion and Education Committee chair and farms with her husband and family in Ward county.