Proactive

Today a school official called our house. My wife, Colleen, answered. The official told Colleen that a teacher had noticed that our fifteen-year-old son, who has very large bones and is slightly obese, (got the gene from his biological father's family) has not seemed to be eating lunch at school the last two weeks. The school official started to tell Colleen about the free lunch program. Colleen said, "Stop right there. It will take me thirty minutes to get to the school. I want to meet with you, the principal, the teacher who made the allegation, and our son." The school official said, "but, but." Colleen said, "I will see you in thirty minutes."

Next, a wardrobe change: off with the boots and jeans, on with the hose, Bruno Magli shoes, and a professional-looking dress. The wheels on the van spin just a bit, as she backs out of the driveway.

No official but the lady who called was available to meet with Colleen when she arrived. Colleen asked the lady to take notes of everything that was said, then read the notes back to her at the end of the meeting. First, she asked our son to show the woman how much money he had in his wallet: $41.00! Colleen knew that, of course. She and our son have been working on a ranch this weekend for ten dollars an hour, mucking horse stalls, and doing general barn and livestock maintenance. Colleen noted that he had enough money in his wallet to purchase a lunch today; in fact, enough for several days!

Next, Colleen asked our son to tell how many kinds of lunchmeats she had purchased and brought home for him yesterday. His answer: "Four, and a bunch of other food, too," as he pulled a granola bar out of his pocket.

Colleen told the lady that she appreciated the teacher's concern, and that she has a plan for the rest of the week. She will make up four cards with smiley faces on them. Our son is to take the card to the teacher who made the allegation, show him his lunch every day, and have the teacher sign the card. Our son is then supposed to bring the card home for his parents to see. If he has a signed smiley face every day for the rest of this week, he no longer has to bring the card to the teacher in the upcoming weeks.

People make assumptions about large families. We feel the need to be proactive whenever we encounter those assumptions. One assumption is that because there are so many children, they must need a free lunch. We could not possibly be adequately taking care of them, now could we?

Why is our son not eating, if, in fact, it is true that he is not eating? He knows he is overweight. It was not a problem the last few years when he was homeschooling. Now he attends a school that has cute persons of the opposite gender also in attendance. I predict that in no time at all he will be svelt, even if he does have to eat his lunch!

Update:
Colleen has finally been able to talk with the principal. The principal admitted that she had talked to the staff about talking to parents about free lunches, BECAUSE THE SCHOOL WILL QUALIFY FOR ADDITIONAL FEDERAL DOLLARS!