(searching for "terrifying lunchroom," I found this? from here)
Nowadays I find myself a bit amazed by folks who can eat three meals a day - who have something for breakfast, have a nice lunch, & a decent sit-down dinner. In my adult life, I've left breakfast behind. I'm either up way too late to have anything resembling a breakfast, or if I do, I'm hungry about an hour afterward & up until lunch.
It wasn't always this way. I'm sure I had three meals a day (plus snacks) when I was a kid. I'm not sure they were quality meals - my mother worked at a convenience store near my elementary school & I have memories of her giving us packaged donuts & cinnamon rolls for breakfast - but I did have a breakfast, I'd eat lunch at school, & we'd have some kind of dinner - my mom wasn't much of a cook - but she'd put something in front of us as we watched television around 6:30pm.
Something changed in high school. I didn't really enjoy the vibe of the lunchroom. I didn't like waiting in line for mediocre food, I didn't like trying to find some place to eat, I didn't enjoy whatever I might bring. At this point, I believe I was left to fend for myself, lunch-wise - either my mother gave me money, or instructed me to make my own - & I knew I'd rather spend the money on other things (usually comic books). So I spent my lunch hours, from tenth grade on, in the library. Much of this had to do with having fewer friends in tenth grade, & sadly almost none of it had to do with the racist mural in our lunchroom.
It wasn't always this way. I'm sure I had three meals a day (plus snacks) when I was a kid. I'm not sure they were quality meals - my mother worked at a convenience store near my elementary school & I have memories of her giving us packaged donuts & cinnamon rolls for breakfast - but I did have a breakfast, I'd eat lunch at school, & we'd have some kind of dinner - my mom wasn't much of a cook - but she'd put something in front of us as we watched television around 6:30pm.
Something changed in high school. I didn't really enjoy the vibe of the lunchroom. I didn't like waiting in line for mediocre food, I didn't like trying to find some place to eat, I didn't enjoy whatever I might bring. At this point, I believe I was left to fend for myself, lunch-wise - either my mother gave me money, or instructed me to make my own - & I knew I'd rather spend the money on other things (usually comic books). So I spent my lunch hours, from tenth grade on, in the library. Much of this had to do with having fewer friends in tenth grade, & sadly almost none of it had to do with the racist mural in our lunchroom.
When did I eat? I think I might have had something for breakfast, & something when I got home, right after school. It became second nature, I almost never expected to have lunch when I was in high school. Once I started working, I would eat after school whenever I was hungry, & usually fast food. I am pretty sure that I got my own meals at some point most of the time after eleventh grade. The transition to college was pretty easy because I had fended for myself for so long. Fent for myself? It seems like the past tense of fend should be fent. Anyway.
In my adulthood, I gave up breakfast, mostly, altogether. Occasionally I'd have breakfast with someone, but left to my own devices, I simply waited for lunch. When I was a smoker, I'd usually have a cigarette or two to start the day - I understood the charm of a cup of coffee & a cigarette even if I never had coffee. I was always running too late for work or whatever to get something & - this is crucial - the woman I've lived with for almost twenty years now doesn't eat breakfast either.
In my adulthood, I gave up breakfast, mostly, altogether. Occasionally I'd have breakfast with someone, but left to my own devices, I simply waited for lunch. When I was a smoker, I'd usually have a cigarette or two to start the day - I understood the charm of a cup of coffee & a cigarette even if I never had coffee. I was always running too late for work or whatever to get something & - this is crucial - the woman I've lived with for almost twenty years now doesn't eat breakfast either.
Mostly though breakfast is either too heavy & makes me want to sleep right afterwards, or it's too light & I'm hungry all the way through to lunch. My body must be dumb - if I don't eat breakfast, I don't feel hungry until right before lunch. Not if I have breakfast!
So we celebrate lunch this week. But why? Maybe I'll tell you tomorrow.
So we celebrate lunch this week. But why? Maybe I'll tell you tomorrow.
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