Lunchbox Larfs- September 3, 2013

In lieu of writing actual blog posts I thought I would share a new hobby with you. Isn't it interesting that it's a hobby if it is vaguely productive, but an obsession if it's vaguely criminal? Building model trains is a hobby, building trains out of models is an obsession. Jefferey Dahmer would be known as merely a hobbyist if we could all just stop labeling people. 

But as always I digress. My eldest daughter started Grade One this year (or First Grade for you American readers), which meant a lot of changes for her. She would have to go full day (8:45 - 3:15). Man, I wish when I was in an office that was considered a full day. She has to to more learning through structured learning rather than play. And she has to remember her lunch box. This of course is the apex of difficultly for any five-year-old.

She was quite worried about being in the busy lunchroom with all the big kids and who she would sit with, if anyone. Her worries made it sound like there may be a separate dungeon-like room for introverts where they take away the ham sandwich you brought and replace it was a tasty gruel, then immediately be pummeled by the Grade Sevens.

One of the things that she and I love to do together is draw. I don't claim to be a great drawer, (that's the technical title right?) but I do enjoy it. Always have. At the age of ten I asked for a drafting table for Christmas, making my free spirited young parents quite worried that they were in fact raising "The Man". Thankfully I don't have the drive nor energy to be a powerful person, I just wanted to draw silly pictures.

So in order to help her through the terror that would be lunch time I drew a silly cartoon and stuffed it in her lunchbox, hoping that would make her feel a little more at ease.

Being that this was my first attempt at a note to make my daughter feel good on the first day it's not incredibly funny, so much as it's something she can relate too. 

My daughter has an amazing interest in giant squids. We have read many books, watched a number of documentaries and even communicated with one of the world's foremost experts on giant squids, Dr. Clyde Roper. All this has cumulated in a planned visit to the Smithsonian to view the display there and hopefully meet Dr. Roper. Hopefully I'll have an amusing post about that when it happens.