Snapshot of a Lunch Mom

I walk into the school at 11:30 every day, hoping and praying that the kids in my lunch class are having a good day. I go to the milk room (there is no cafeteria in the school) and gather the 10 chocolate milks, 2 white milks, and 5 sack lunches that my class of 20 1st and 2nd graders needs. Then it’s off to Room 107 to relieve the teacher so that she can have a few moments of peace to enjoy her own lunch. The bell rings to signify the beginning of lunchtime, and I make my way through the crowd of children who are already lined up at the sink to wash their hands.

And so it begins…

Yay! Mrs. Guthrie! [Sometimes I get a few hugs.]
I have peanut butter in my lunch today.
Me too!
Okay boys, if you’ve washed your hands you may go to Room 103. [My room has been designated a peanut-free zone.]
Is today nacho day?
No, that’s tomorrow.
Hey Mrs. Guthrie, guess what?
What?
Remember that jar of candy in the corner of the room and we all had to guess how much was inside? Well I won! I get to keep all 54 pieces!
That’s great, wow! Oh, I see that _____ is absent today. Is there anybody else missing? [I’m mentally subtracting from the classroom total so that I know how many heads to count when we come back in from recess.]
No, everybody else is here.
Mrs. Guthrie, my finger is bleeding!
Okay, hold on. Let me get a band-aid.
What happened to him?
Oh man, is he bleeding?
Guys, it’s just a little scratch, he’s fine. Here ya go, buddy.
Mrs. Guthrie, I can’t find my lunch. I looked and looked. I think _____ stole it.
No he didn’t. You have one of the sack lunches, just go ahead and start eating that and we’ll look for the one you brought from home.
Mrs. Guthrie, can I go to the bathroom?
Yes, please get the pass.
Can I go to the bathroom too?
No, only one boy at a time, remember?
Mrs. Guthrie, will you open this for me?
Hey Mrs. Guthrie, guess what? I got 140 pieces of candy when I went trick-or-treating last night!
_____ sit down while you’re eating.
Are we going outside for recess today?
Mrs. _____ said that if we don’t be good up in here, then we have to lose a class stamp.
Mrs. Guthrie, I don’t like anything in my lunch. Can I go to the milk room to see if they have some fruit?
I’m done already, can I clean up?
_____, I said sit down while you’re eating.
Can we bring the soccer ball outside today?
Mrs. Guthrie, _____ keeps touching my food.
I am not!
Keep you hands in your own space please.

After 20 minutes of this constant interaction, it’s time to clean up and line up to go outside for recess. If I can get them lined up, quiet for walking through the halls, and outside to play in 5 minutes, they’ll have 15 minutes to play. The school runs a tight schedule!

Outside, the boy who thought someone else stole his lunch is pouting. When a bigger kid bumps into him, he bursts into tears and comes to find me. But I spend the majority of the time outside in peace, watching the kids to make sure they’re playing safely. Then, as the bell rings to line up and go back inside…

Mrs. Guthrie, I need a puff from my inhaler – my chest hurts.
Mrs. Guthrie, _____ and _____ are jumping off the bench!
Mrs. Guthrie, I’m afraid of _____. He’s trying to get me!
Ow! Hey, don’t push!
_____, tie your shoe before we start walking. _____, turn around and pay attention so you’ll know when the line starts moving. Is everyone here now? [I start counting heads before we go back inside.]

Even just walking back inside the building can be chaotic. The 45 minutes that I’m with the kids is literally a constant barrage of tattling, hugging, arguing, eating, playing, and goofing off. By the end of it, I can tell that my body temperature has risen (and maybe my blood pressure too!).

Some days are harder than others, of course. But honestly, I wouldn’t trade this job for anything right now. God has put me in these kids’ lives for a brief moment each day to love on them, teach them, help them, and have fun with them. After a particularly difficult day, that is what I need to remember.

Perhaps we should all remember to look at our jobs (and lives) that way. God has put each of us in a precise place, around specific people, for a particular purpose. Let’s do our best to keep that perspective, and ask God to help us see everything and everyone around us through His eyes.

"As I have loved you, so must you love one another." -- John 13:34