Today was the last food pickup from our local public school district. The school district has provided kids under the age of 18 with free breakfast and lunch throughout the lockdown, on weekends when their school went back to a hybrid schedule, and then during the summers of course. We have been picking up every week for well over a year. These simple trips were one of the only times I (and my three boys) left the house during the pandemic. These pandemic food pickups offered a small adventure outside the four walls of our house.
When the pickups first started, they were twice a week, but eventually got combined into one day a week. I would load up the boys to go and they would make it fun in some way. On some trips, they pretended we were escaping a hoard of zombies during an apocalypse. Sometimes, I wondered how far from reality that scenario actually was… Other days, they would pretend we were on the run from the authorities. They would yell, “Mommy, go faster!” or “You’ll never catch us!” The boys would pretend to throw bombs and other items to deter their assailants.
I would play along as I was driving, letting their imaginations blossom.
The school district has always offered summer meals to children at certain schools, but we had never taken advantage of the service before the pandemic. We are very thankful to have these meals available to us and alleviate our weekly grocery bill, as well as provide trips. Any items we didn’t or couldn’t use, we took to a local homeless outreach group or a little free pantry. We are always grateful to these extras that we did not need necessarily, but helped us through a tough time.
If you are ever in need of food, there are several local food banks and little free pantries throughout the area.
I truly hope my boys remember this time as a positive one, that they spent more time with each other and their family. I know how easy it is to look at all the negatives from the pandemic, but let’s choose to find some positives. I have three boys who have grown closer during this time. I know virtual school was a challenge for all of us whether a working parent, relative, or SAHM. Let us all be kind and support each other as we navigate this new normal and start getting ready for going back to school.
