It finally happened—the moment I dreaded. My beloved daughter, Emma, stepped off the school bus complaining about the lack of creativity in her packed lunches. My first thought was, “Oh no, has she been browsing Pinterest?” My second thought was, “Time to tighten our parental controls on that site.”
It turns out, another mother—probably one with an active Pinterest account—has been sending her daughter to school each day with lunches that look like they’ve stepped out of a fairytale, complete with Disney-themed dishes and meticulously crafted veggie designs. Emma has noticed, and I’m feeling the pressure. Thanks a lot, mystery mom.
According to Emma, her Wednesday lunch was spent watching little Lily savor an organic noodle shaped like a character from Frozen, while Emma picked at a zip-lock bag filled with plain pretzels and a heavy dose of disappointment. Her heart-wrenching tale pushed me, as any guilt-ridden mom would be, to give this Bento Box trend a shot.
I promised Emma an Olaf-themed lunch, but after reading the first three ingredients—Japanese nori noodles, purple seaweed, and edible modeling clay—I was like, “No way!” Packing a lunch shouldn’t require a scavenger hunt through specialty shops. I haven’t even had a moment to myself in days, let alone the time to hunt down ingredients for a meal my five-year-old might just toss aside.
But I had made a promise, so it was onto Plan B. Unfortunately, I had no backup plan until a couple of glasses of 2009 Napa Cabernet helped me unwind.
Introducing the “I Don’t Have Time for This—Here’s Some Lunch Money” Bento Box
So, to all the exhausted, imperfect moms out there, here’s my “Thanks but no thanks, Pinterest” solution to this costly and time-consuming lunch trend:
- Grab some lunch money from your wallet.
- Arrange the cash and tape it down.
- Use a Sharpie to add a personal touch.
Forget about crafting little broccoli trees with heartfelt messages carved into their stems while juggling your mental health. No thanks. My “I don’t have time for this” Bento Boxes offer a straightforward way to communicate with your child, whether you’re addressing bathroom dilemmas, offering friendship advice, or calling them out on their behavior.
Sure, this approach still requires minimal effort, which is more than I usually like to commit, but just imagine the look on your child’s face when they open their lunch box and find something like this:
Arachnophobia, solved. “Thanks, Mom!”
Ladies, even if your child isn’t buying lunch, I’m here on my linoleum floor, pleading with you to abandon the melon baller and embrace the simplicity of a classic square cheese sandwich. After all, you don’t need to win “MOM OF THE YEAR” because, in your child’s eyes, you already have it.
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In summary, the Bento Box trend doesn’t have to consume your life. Embrace the simplicity of lunch money, and remember that your child already thinks you’re the best!