Lunch Envy

It started with leftovers. Nothing special—just crescent wraps, Stromboli or whatever was handy. That’s usually what my husband gets in the lunches I pack for him during the work week. But for some reason, his co-worker (whom we’ll call Ernie) has a severe case of lunch envy. He studies Tom’s lunches in detail. He questions him about each thing. No matter what Tom brings, Ernie sees it as the Holy Grail of noon-time fare.

To be honest, I’m completely baffled by this. Tom’s lunch is seldom anything special—since convenience is my friend. My REALLY good friend (especially at 11 pm when I’m pushing through my late-night-to-do’s and putting the lunches together). Sometimes it’s a sandwich or a salad. Other times it’s leftover pasta or a wrap. I try to include some fruit. Maybe some carrots & tomatoes. Maybe a candy treat for dessert. When I’m really lazy (usually on Thursday nights), the auto-pilot kicks in and Tom has to resort to a Frozen-meal-Friday. Still, Ernie thinks Tom’s lunches are the bomb. He was in complete awe recently when he (and Tom) discovered a frozen veggie burrito in Tom’s lunch one day. “Ohhhh! Where does your wife even FIND this stuff?” Dude. Kroger.

He’s even gone so far as to say to Tom, “Can your wife talk to my wife about packing better lunches?” That’s when I got a little mad (and defensive for Ernie’s wife … whom I’ve never met).

Then I backed off a little when I started thinking about how we all experience a little Ernie-envy now and then. How many times have you been out to dinner with someone whose dinner ends up looking WAY better than what you ordered? How many times have you spent months (and lots of money) planning the ideal vacation only to have it rain all week … then listen to your neighbor boast about the sunny trip they took (for a quarter of the price)? How often do we look at someone else’s life and think … They are SO lucky. Their life is PERFECT!

I think the secret is loving what you have. So it rained on your vacation. You were all together in that little trailer, right? So, your sister’s grilled shrimp looked better than your meatloaf. Offer to share bites.

There’s a part of me that wants to sit down with Ernie and his lunch and say, “Take a deep breath. Close your eyes. Now, take a bite out of that PB & J. Do you not taste the sunshine in that strawberry jam? Your wife took the time and love late last night when she was really tired to make that just for you. Taste that? That’s a little bit o’ love in every bite. Not everybody gets that. So savor it. It’s a gift. Life is good. Really, really good.”