Last week I had the opportunity to pick up my son from hockey practice, which is a rare occasion since my husband absolutely loves watching Danny play hockey whether its a game or practice. But that night it just so worked out I got to play chauffeur. As we were walking out of the rink Danny asked me if we could go out and get something to eat. I really wasn’t planning on driving thru somewhere and spending money but he said “can we go somewhere to sit down and eat?”
That was a trigger for me that he wanted to spend some mommy and son time together. He had 3 choices where he wanted to go, Panera, Chipotle or McD. He told me what he wanted to eat at all 3 places. Chipotle is a special place where only he and I eat and we usually share the same entree together. He knows that I spend a lot of time at Panera when I do my health classes, but MCD, was a place that is not one of mom’s favorites for a variety of reasons.
So the discussion in the car was around what to eat after he plays hockey. I reminded him of what coach said in regards to eating protein after practice or a game. So we started talking about all sorts of protein options that he could choose from.
“Bacon is protein right mom?” “What other protein foods are there?” He seemed interested. I wasn’t pushing the topic, but was glad he was intrigued so I went with his energy and let him lead the discussion and he chose Panera. To my surprise, Panera showed a few of their specialty items and listed the fiber and protein grams. (Great teachable moment). He was intrigued. He wanted to make a good choice, so he decided on the “Turkey Chili”,. It was a cold night and a nice cup of warm soup sounded like a good idea.
We played hangman, talked and enjoyed each others company. He wasn’t able to finish all his soup and had leftovers. I asked if he wanted soup for lunch tomorrow. He said no that it would get cold. He then shared with me how the other kids in school actually pack warm food in their lunch boxes. “It would be really cool to get one of those things” (A thermos). Then I found out that in 4th grade kids still have lunch boxes and not brown bags. Who knew?! He asked, can I get a cool lunch box, with compartments and a thermos instead of a brown bag?
Even though I didn’t want to go out to eat and spend money, it was a highlight to my day. I enjoyed being in the moment with my son and learned something new that I could do to make him happy. I guess I will be buying a special new lunch box this week.