The Day of the Raisin

Lupus Parenting Tip #1



Do not take snack time and teacher notes too personally.


Okay...so I am a very new Kindergarten mom. And today was snack day for Little Bear.


This was a big deal for me. I felt like whatever my little guy brought in would be a representation of his home. Food is important. I wanted to send a stupendous, never to be forgotten, spectacular snack. A healthy snack, but one that said, "Hey! This is one cooool snack!"


Oh, and did I mention a snack that could fit into our shoestring lupus mom not able to work budget?


So I have visions of Ritz crackers and cheese cubes in individualized little plastic baggies. But, plastic baggies are not good enough...I want them to be SNACK PACKS!!


Unfortunately, by the time I was getting ready to pull these superduper snacks together...it was near bedtime and my spoons were tossed to the wind a long time earlier.


Hubby being the sweety he is told me to relax...he would run to the store right away and buy something. What should he buy?


So I think really hard....I think of fond childhood memories of getting those little red raisin boxes with the bonneted dark haired gal gathering raisins in her basket. Now those were the best snacks when I was a kid!!!


I tell hubby to buy those itty bitty raisin boxes...lots and lots of them.


I go to sleep after packing Little Bear's backpack with those glorious store bought raisins...secure in knowing that my mothering would be known to all in Kindergartenland...oooh Little Bear's mom bought raisins! YIPPEE.


And off goes Little Bear to school...


And he comes home with a note in his little book bag...not a personal note....a mimeographed note...oopsie...showing my age again...a PHOTOCOPIED note...about snacks!


"Wow!", I think, "I know that was a good snack, but I surely didn't expect a memo!"


Here is the relevant part of the note:


"Dear Parents,


Hello. [stuff about book orders]


We eat our snack everyday at 10:30. The boys and girls are usually very hungry by this time. When sending in a snack please keep in mind that one cookie or a handful of crackers is not enough to fill up the boys and girls. They have been asking for more. Today we discovered that we do not like raisins...


Thank you,


[Teacher]"


So ...I have a lot to learn.


And before I scuttled into the Kindergarten Hall of Shame, I run into my son's former teacher's aide from Pre-K at the PTG meeting tonight.


Still burning in shame about the Raisingate...I ask former Teacher Aide "Hey, did you read the raisin memo sent home today?"


"Yep."


"Do you know who the Raisin parent is?"


Former teacher aide parent looks me dead in the eye, grins and says, "Yep...it was you."


And we laugh.


She has survived over two years of my snacking extravanganzas that Little Bear would tote to Pre-K and Day care.


I laugh some more...but, I am thinking...what am I....some neglectful snack demented raisin mom?


So, I overcompensate.


I sign up for every darn committee and school function.


I even signed up for the refreshments for the October Familyfest.


HA!


No raisins this time!


I'll set to making a much better snacking creation!


Pumpkin muffins...


I can hardly wait.