Lunch with Liv

Today, I had lunch with Olivia at her school. The flexibility of working from home enables me to do things like this now, which is pretty amazing.

I arrived a few minutes before her lunch was scheduled and waited at the end of a long corridor. My daughter's classroom was at the very end of this hallway. When her door opened, I could see the children line up, waiting to be dismissed for lunch. Because Liv is her class's "Star of the Week", she stood at the very front of the queue.

She didn't see me right away as she was engaged in an animated discussion with one of friends but when she finally looked up and recognized me, she lit up like a Christmas tree. I watched her chatter with her friends and all of the sudden, several pairs of hands were waving. Liv jumped up and down a few times, unable to contain her excitement.

I understood then, how important our little lunch date was to her. At the entrance to the cafeteria, she patiently took my hand and led me through the lunch line. She proudly punched her student number into the machine and introduced me to the cashier. We sat and as we ate, she told me about her morning, pointed out her new boyfriend and informed me that immediately following lunch, we would go outside for recess. What struck me the most was her gratitude. She thanked me over and over. At one point, she confessed that she thought I'd forget and continue working through lunch, which broke my heart just a bit.

Hopefully, our short time together today went a little way in repairing her faith in her mama. I know it made my heart sing.