Taking Time for Lunch

I put in a lot of hours at work.  I am pretty good at time management (and work through lunch on most days), so I still get off by 5:15pm every day, but the time spent at the office definitely adds up.  While anyone can tell you that breaks need to be taken, it is important to ensure that those breaks are effective, meaning that they replenish you and allow you to refocus once you return to work.  I do not take as many breaks as I should, but they are almost always effective.  The best break?  Going to one of my daughters’ schools and surprising them for lunch.

Elaina is in Kindergarten at Colonel Johnston Elementary School while Gabriella attends Pre-K at New Beginnings Child Development Center, both on Fort Huachuca.  Without any notice needed, I can just head over to a school and have a quick lunch with them (this is especially true with Elaina given that they are allotted about 15 minutes for lunch, which reminds me of my Basic Training days of having to scarf down food).  They are always surprised when you show up and really appreciate just talking with you throughout lunch. It is a little thing, but it lets them know how much you care about them.

Being a single parent, a lot of times the work never stops when you get home; there is always more cooking and cleaning to do, even after the girls go to bed.  Taking an hour our of your day to have lunch with them may not seem like a lot of time to you, but it means the world to them.  And it just helps to reaffirm my priority in life, to both them and me, which is always my girls (not that I needed any help figuring that out).

Thanks for checking in on us.

Cheers!