Today's lunch was typical fare, but on Friday Jackson ate school lunch in honor of the Chinese New Year.
February 16, 2010
Jackson’s Lunch:
- Roast Beef and Swiss Sandwich
- Blood Orange Segments
- Green Salad with Feta and Vinaigrette
- Snap Pea Crisps
Jackson’s preschool class celebrated Chinese New Year last Friday. They made dragon puppets, sang and danced. The school also prepared and served a Chinese-inspired lunch.
On a typical day, I pack Jackson’s lunch, and he’s more than happy to eat it. But when he found out that the school was celebrating Chinese New Year with a special lunch, he asked if he could eat school lunch that day. I happily and enthusiastically said, “Of course!”
While it’s true I pack a lunch for my son so he’s properly and healthfully fueled, I also can see and understand the importance of being part of a community. Chinese New Year was something Jackson learned about with his peers, celebrated with his peers, and he wanted to belong to all parts of the celebration.
So, while the lunch was perhaps not the most nutritious or maybe not as nutritious as one I would’ve packed for him, it was important for him to share in it. And, since I was invited to join them, I partook as well in the stir-fried veggies, rice and eggrolls, and it was heart-warming to share the whole experience with Jackson, who was very proud to show off his dancing dragon and Chinese food.
Yes, the food could have been healthier (the eggrolls were fried, frozen and reheated, and the rice was white), but Jackson enjoyed the experience. I believe it’s fine to eat deep-fried goodies occasionally when the trade-off is learning about a culture or building a community. The occasional bite of something we don’t normally eat isn’t the end of the world; it’s sometimes the window into a different part of it.
