It
was during the 2008 recession. I was 5 months unemployed at the time
and have nearly used up all my savings. I was also a single mother of a
boy whose father I've met once — the day he was conceived.
As
I walk pass the eviction notice on the fridge to pick up my car keys, I
remembered reaching through my pockets to pull a few dollars out. I
then hand those bills to my 8 year old son for his school lunch. I could
see it in his face that he knew that I was barely able to make ends
meet. He said, “thanks mom” and hugged me tightly. I smiled and
proceeded to take him to school.
After
dropping him off, I went back home and opened my laptop to send more
resumes. But who would want to hire a real estate agent when the housing
bubble just popped? So I became desperate and started looking for any
job. I must have sent 30 emails that day… yet no calls back.
A
few hours have passed and I realized it was time to pick up my son from
school. As I am driving, I noticed that I have yet again skipped 2
meals. I guess that month I was getting used to it seeing that I needed
to wear a belt for my jeans for the first time.
When
it was time for dinner, I opened the fridge to see the same leftovers
we've been eating for the last couple of days. I warm up the spaghetti
and called my son to the dinner table.
He sees the plate of food that he had the day before and then suddenly I see him get all excited.
“Mom, mom! We don't have to eat spaghetti today!”
I was confused. He probably just wants something different.
“I'm sorry Jacob, I promise you that I'll make something new tomorrow”
He then runs to get his backpack and opens it to reveal the school lunch he saved.
“Mom,
I didn't eat it so that we could share it for dinner! There's enough
for the both of us. I asked Henry who didn't want his sandwich!” he said
with a big happy smile.
At
that moment I broke down into tears. My little boy was so tired of the
spaghetti that he’d rather save his food from school. I hugged him and
kept telling him that I was sorry. He brushed me off. He was so hungry
that he started to take bites out of his sandwich.
Things
eventually got better. I found a job and I never had the same food for
dinner for more than 2 days. That was also the last and only time that
my son skipped his lunch. My son is now 19 and in college. He's going
back to the dorms tomorrow and I couldn't help but remember this story.
-(The Person who shared this incident does not want to be named)
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