Thinking Out Loud Thursday

Today I'm joining Thinking Out Loud Thursday with Penny's Passion. My mind is going a million miles an hour lately, but most of it is in circles around work. For some jobs, this could be useful, but I'm not in an extremely mental job - I'm a lunch lady (okay, breakfast lady mostly, but that doesn't have the same ring to it).

I've been thinking about all the kids falling through the cracks. I see all the fabulous videos of the great teachers who greet every kid at the door, and the principals who know every child's name and story, and watching the instantaneous success that YouTube shows when you treat each child with respect. I love it, and nearly every one brings a tear to my eye.

But the kids you will never see in those videos are the ones whose struggle keeps them from even getting there in time for the greeting at the door. They're not there for all the back-patting and checking in that happens while everyone gets ready for learning. They're sometimes not treated as much more than a number, because by the time they arrive, class is already in session.

See, I'm the breakfast lady every day. I start feeding kids around 8:15am. The kids I feed at 8:15 were dropped off for latchkey care sometime after 6:30 or 7am. I love to chat them up for a few minutes - see how their evening was, what they're looking forward to, follow up with what they may have told me earlier in the week.
Around 8:30 or so, my bussed kids start arriving. It's sort of a rush by then, but I make sure to wish them a good day and call them by name. I know how hectic the morning can be, and my kids will tell you how grumpy I can be trying to get us out the door on time. So once they've made it to school, I want them to see a smiling face and be able to head to class with a full belly.
I have to get a little stricter around 8:50. It's time to go to class so you can get counted in attendance, and order your lunch. Some of the smaller kids, especially, may not have finished eating, so they'll take what's left of their breakfast to the classroom. There have been a few occasions where I've needed to help them balance their goodies to their room, or found a helper to go with them.

As I start cleaning up a little after 9am, I always have a few stragglers. These are the kids I'm talking about. They aren't in the welcome videos, and they've missed the instructions for their first activity in the classroom. But if they've gotten to me, they're still hungry! I try to efficiently get them breakfast (sometimes they arrive after I've packed up the food, but no one goes to class hungry if I can help it). It's a tricky game - trying to rush them to class while helping them to not feel rushed. And I never want them to feel like I'm too busy with something else to feed them. See, that's my first job - feed the kids.

I've got a soft spot for these kids - the ones falling through the cracks. The ones sliding a little further behind each day. I'm thinking, but thinking doesn't do much to help them. I'm not sure what will. I'm really happy for the smiling kids in the videos, but I try to get a smile out of all my kids. I wish I could do something to give them all a fighting chance.

I do what I can - I feed the kids.

Payday! (Almost!)

The start of the school year is not only like an actual new year, it feels as expensive as Christmas - but with money due sooner and no warning! Course, it doesn't make a lot of sense to say it's 'with no warning' - fall comes at the same time each year, I should be ready for it... Working for the schools, though, means I've reached the end of my summer savings. Yay for payday tomorrow!

What I'm 'Thinking out Loud' this Thursday is that tomorrow is payday, and I've got a list of stuff waiting for money!

Birthday gift
We're going to a 'destination' birthday party this weekend at Great Wolf Lodge, so we certainly need to get a birthday gift for the wonderful one-year-old.

Great Wolf Lodge
Luckily, we paid for our reservation a couple weeks ago, but in looking at their website, it looks like my kids will need a wand or something for some scavenger hunt? If you've been, please clue me in: what's really necessary for the kids? I know I'll be bringing a book or two, and planning a few dollars for tropical drinks in the water park.

Yearbook
My daughter started middle school this year, so pictures were before school started (so they can get their id cards ASAP) and yearbook orders are cheapest (read: $45) before the end of  September.

Stitch Fix
My son got his first kid's Stitch Fix box! And I extended our return date til tomorrow's payday. Luckily for me, they sent me a ridiculous pair of joggers I'd only let him wear as PJs, and some jeans with a button and zipper (gasp - unacceptable to him! LOL). So I think I'll only end up buying about half of the ten items...

Birthday party
My son's birthday party is later this month, so I've got some work to do for that too! I ordered some great invitations based on his favorite tv show - Gravity Falls - from Etsy, but now I need to print and mail them, for starters. Then I still need to browse for some more stuff for party games and cupcakes. Wish me luck on all this!

Dinners
I've also got a box of three dinners coming from Hello Fresh next week, that the charge comes out for tomorrow.

School lunch accounts
The best thing about middle school, it turns out, is the cafeteria. Pizza, pretzels, slushies, fro-yo - EVERYDAY!! I'm teaching her to watch her expenses by depositing a set amount for each day, but that means, you know, money. Hahaha... and the boy-child needs to eat too, even if less of it is at school.

The rest
Once I've got most of that in place, I'll still need our regular groceries, toiletries, and other cleaning/personal care/etc that we need all the time.

Oh, and of course I want to start setting money aside for the actual holidays, so I can still have some walking around money from each check between now and then and not need to panic in mid-December. I'll all work out - I'm grateful to be back at work!

Trying to get back in my groove...

Work and back to school have been kicking my tushie! Yesterday I was a zombie all afternoon, but a good night's sleep last night has made me feel a ton better.

While checking around on some blogging friends, I found Ann, who today is participating with Thinking Out Loud Thursday and Thankful Thursday. They both sounded like a good idea to me!

What I'm thinking out loud about, as the school year starts for this lunch room employee, is parents actually recognizing the importance of being 100% truthful about food allergies.

I know that sounds sort of odd, but I've encountered a few kids who had allergy alerts on their lunch accounts (which will stop me from selling anything containing the stated allergen to the child), but then removed it at a later date. What's up with that? The only real reason I can think of is that it was a sensitivity, not a true allergy, and the child has matured to the point that they can choose their level of exposure. Unfortunately, most parents want it to be something where they just tell the lunch lady it's all good - there are actually official procedures to change something as serious as a food allergy on a child's account.

I'm so grateful not to deal with any food allergies in my personal life, but it really annoys me that some parents seem to use an 'allergy' as an excuse to monitor their child, when there are truly life-threatening allergies that must be taken seriously. The importance of the correct response to a real allergy is so serious, and I hate seeing it diluted when a parent changes their mind about an allergy periodically. Allergies can be life and death, and that's how we treat them in the kitchen.





And in an interesting twist, today I'm thankful for a job where I feel valued and appreciated. I love the kids I work with daily, and I'm even lucky enough to have great co-workers at both locations where I work. It all makes waking up at 6am til halfway through June a little bit better.