Monday night I opened up Mallory's lunch box and saw that, of the ham sandwich, orange slices, and pudding cup I had packed that morning, she had taken only one bite of the sandwich. "Mallory, why didn't you eat your lunch today?" I asked.
"Um, I didn't have time," she said.
"Why didn't you have time?"
"Lunch was really short today," she explained.
Tuesday night I opened up Mallory's lunch box and saw that she had eaten one bite of sandwich and all the pudding. That night Mallory also had a stomachache. "Did you have a stomachache at lunch too? Is that why you didn't eat?" I asked.
"No, I didn't eat because I was talking to my friends and ran out of time," she said. "I think I have a stomachache because I only ate my pudding. And then I had ice cream at Mama and Papa's house after school."
Ah. The next morning I packed only a sandwich and an orange, no pudding, and also told Papa that they were to inspect Mallory's lunch box before giving her a snack, and that if she hadn't eaten most of her sandwich and most of her fruit, she was not to have a treat after school.
So Wednesday afternoon, my mother-in-law opened up the lunch box, and Mallory said, "Before you say anything, you need to understand that my friends have a lot of questions for me at lunch time! And I have to answer them and it's not my fault I don't have time to eat! What do you want me to do, not answer their questions?"
But she had, in fact, eaten most of her lunch that day, so all was well. As Chris said, it's hard to be so popular.
"Um, I didn't have time," she said.
"Why didn't you have time?"
"Lunch was really short today," she explained.
Tuesday night I opened up Mallory's lunch box and saw that she had eaten one bite of sandwich and all the pudding. That night Mallory also had a stomachache. "Did you have a stomachache at lunch too? Is that why you didn't eat?" I asked.
"No, I didn't eat because I was talking to my friends and ran out of time," she said. "I think I have a stomachache because I only ate my pudding. And then I had ice cream at Mama and Papa's house after school."
Ah. The next morning I packed only a sandwich and an orange, no pudding, and also told Papa that they were to inspect Mallory's lunch box before giving her a snack, and that if she hadn't eaten most of her sandwich and most of her fruit, she was not to have a treat after school.
So Wednesday afternoon, my mother-in-law opened up the lunch box, and Mallory said, "Before you say anything, you need to understand that my friends have a lot of questions for me at lunch time! And I have to answer them and it's not my fault I don't have time to eat! What do you want me to do, not answer their questions?"
But she had, in fact, eaten most of her lunch that day, so all was well. As Chris said, it's hard to be so popular.
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