Parenthood Unpacked: Back to School Edition
Welcome back to Parenthood Unpacked . If you're new here, hi! I'm Casey, a parent and part of the PlanetBox team. Parenthood Unpacked is your peek at real life on this side of the lunch box.
You would think that someone who works for a lunch box company would have the whole back-to-school thing dialed in. Matching supplies ordered in July. Lunches mentally planned by August. A laminated morning routine chart on the fridge. Reader, I did not.
Summers in Seattle have a way of making you feel like you have to earn them. So we did. Camping trips, a rotating cast of houseguests in the guest room, impromptu backyard BBQs, pool days, horseback riding at Grandma's, and enough ice cream to make it seem like its own food group. Kiddo's friends were in and out of the house constantly, which I loved, even when it meant I was feeding extra children on any given afternoon. We crammed it all in, every last drop of it.
And then suddenly it was the week before school and I blinked and here we are.
The Week in Real Life
Monday: Worked from home while kiddo and her neighborhood best friend biked back and forth between houses, demanding snacks at regular intervals and leaving a trail of craft supplies and Legos in their wake. I got some work done. Emphasis on some.
One more Monday detail worth mentioning: I opened my daughter's backpack and discovered her lunch box from Friday still inside. Three days later. With Friday's lunch still in it.
This is not a paid advertisement. I work here, so make of that what you will, but I am genuinely grateful for how easy these boxes are to clean even when a forgotten lunch has had the whole long weekend to really commit to becoming something terrible. Dump the food, quick rinse, and dishwasher. Done. Comes out looking and smelling like nothing happened. Yes!
Tuesday: Work from home again. We definitely should have gone grocery shopping and done some true back-to-school prep, but I think we were all in a low-grade state of denial. Instead my husband and I snuck out to see some live music at a neighborhood spot in the early evening while kiddo stayed at her bestie's until it was basically bedtime. Fully leaning into the last drops of summer. No regrets. (Or a few regrets.)
Wednesday: First day of school. Classic front-door photo. We were a few minutes later than I would have liked. Car drop-off line instead of the walk-up, but I had a genuine proud mom moment when she hopped out, barely looked back, and took off to find her new class like she owned the place. Growing up, even when we’re not ready for it.
After school she had her first dance class, so we did the classic scramble: home, change clothes, snack, out the door. My husband had baked potatoes with all the fixings ready when we got back, which is basically a perfect dinner, easy to throw together and always a win with our slightly picky child. I capped the evening by walking with the dog, which is really just my excuse to listen to a podcast. Lately I'm loving the Wirecutter podcast from NYTimes. Busy day, good day.
Thursday: Morning meltdown about what to wear. I will not be taking questions. Somehow we got her out the door with Dad and she made it to school, and I immediately texted my mom friends and made plans for the evening. Sometimes you just need something fun on the calendar to get through the day. Parenting survival tip.
Friday: Surprisingly smooth. She woke up and told me about her dreams, which is one of my favorite things. I had exactly one piece of bacon left over from Wednesday’s baked potato dinner. That single strip of bacon made her morning. She happily ate it and the rest of her breakfast and got going without complaint. One piece of bacon. I don't fully understand it but I'm not questioning it.
What I Packed This Week
One thing I didn't anticipate: kiddo's lunch period is later this year, which means she needs a more substantial breakfast to actually make it to lunch time. We've been leaning on eggs in the morning and it's made a difference. Hard boiled, a quick omelet, or wrapped in a tortilla with a little cheese - whatever's fastest.
Day 1: Whole grain waffle with a dipper of maple syrup, TJ's papadum crackers, apple chunks, purple cabbage and a couple cherry tomatoes, nuts and chocolate in the treat spot, and a ‘happy first day of school’ note.
Day 2: Multicolor corkscrew pasta with pesto, roasted potatoes, apple chunks, papadum crackers again, nuts and chocolate in the treat spot.
Day 3: Hard boiled egg, leftover corkscrew pasta and roasted potatoes, salad greens (amazingly, she will just eat plain greens), dried mango because I was out of fresh fruit, TJ's crunchy curls, and half a peanut butter cup for the treat.
Day 4: Brami pasta (made with lupini beans), hard boiled egg, orange slices, the tiniest cherry tomatoes with a few sprigs of fresh basil tucked in for color, pretzels, and nuts with chocolate for the treat.
Day 5: Sesame bagel with butter and a dipper of plum jam, leftover boiled potatoes from dinner last night, TJ’s crunchy curls, a few cherry tomatoes, orange wedges, nuts and chocolate chips. Once this lunch was packed I realized it was a little beige - but oh well, it is what it is!
One Honest Takeaway
Parenting is hard. That's it, that's the takeaway.
Okay, more specifically: as my kiddo edges toward the tween years, I feel like I'm on a low-grade emotional roller coaster most days. Proud of who she's becoming. Frustrated when she finds my last nerve and deliberately tap-dances on it. Delighted by her humor and creativity even on those messy craft days.
I think what I'm trying to say is that I’m trying to be okay with feeling all of those things in the same afternoon. Trying not to measure her against other kids, or against who I was at her age, and just take her as she is and do my best to stay patient, kind and firm but fair. Some days that go better than others. Most days it's a work in progress, and that has to be good enough.
Something I’m Loving
I've started doing a short 2-3 minute meditation or breathing exercise with a kiddo before bed using the Headspace app. To say she loves this would be a lie. There are eye rolls. There are complaints. But because it's only a few minutes, she'll go along with it, and I genuinely think it's helping her wind down and signal to her brain that it's time to sleep. For now I'll take the grudging participation. Progress is progress.