A Legend in his own Lunchbox

When I was in middle school, my cousins had a nanny who used to say, "He's a legend in his own lunchbox" whenever one of the kids was particularly proud of something he did (or frustrated when no one took him seriously).  I loved the saying.  It really encapsulated how adults perceive kids--with the kind of perspective that only comes with age.

And so, since Sammy is now a kindergartener and bringing a lunch to school, I thought it would be fun to send him with little messages on his napkins.  Not only is it great reading practice for Sam, but my hope was that seeing these messages in his lunch would make him feel that much more special.  Maybe he'd read the messages and feel like a legend in his own lunchbox.  ;-) 

Here are some examples from last week:

 

Of course, what I'm doing is not a novel idea.  In fact, my goal is similar to that of the Japanese mom who makes a beautiful bento for their child at school...so the little person knows they're loved and thought of when away from home.  Here's a great example: my good friend Miki made this beautiful "Christmas lunchbox" for her son Riku last December. I was incredibly impressed and I'm certain that Riku felt extremely special when he opened his lunchbox.

I can only hope that Sammy feels as lucky as Riku surely did when he opens his lunch!