Lunch is served.

The other day I dropped by the bank to make a deposit after a visit to the park. The bank is in the neighborhood of the local high school and it happened to be lunchtime. There's a snow cone shack right next to the Wells Fargo so I spent a few minutes watching the high school kids on their lunch break. They were all well-dressed, the cars they drove much nicer than the Chevy Sprint I drove as a high school student and their meals far more hearty than the tiny Hardee's twist cone I sometimes spent my lunch money on. In their case, the snowcone was the dessert, not the actual meal as my Hardee's cone was for me.

I couldn't help but reflect on my days as an AF High Caveman (woman?). You see, I only got money equivalent to one day's worth of school lunch per week. The objective: make your own lunch from home the other four days of the week. Fair enough. Sadly, I was too lazy to do so. After squandering my hard-earned afterschool job money on Hogi Yogi or Del Taco during my junior year, I opted for the more economical approach my senior year. I served my fellow students lunch in the cafeteria every day.

You laugh. Let me tell you why this was perhaps one of my most shining moments. First, I got out of my third period class early every day. Second, I got free lunch and instead of borrowing money for food, I was pocketing the few dollars a week I got for a net gain of probably hundreds of dollars over the course of the year. Third, I learned that it is possible to be a cafeteria worker and still be cool. Did wonders for my self-confidence. Fourth, I got more than one vegetable a day (the other furnished by my wonderful mother, who fed me dinner daily). And fifth, I became a recognizable face in a school of 2000 students. (In fact, two elders in my mission placed me as the girl who served them lunch their sophomore year... hahaha)

My parents did me a great service by allowing me to want for something. My days as a cafeteria worker were more than a funny story. They were a pivotal moment, a point of reference to bring me back to earth when the tugs of affluence seem too strong to resist. Maybe a bit on the philosophical side, but true.