Do you dread the thought of the lunches you prepare for your kids leading to a concerned phone call from the school? Fear not, because Jason Smith is here to show us that he’s facing even greater challenges.
We’ve all experienced those frantic mornings when the school bus approaches, and the lunchbox remains completely empty. As you recall all the charming bento box ideas you’ve saved on Pinterest, you’re left scrambling to shove a whole clementine into one of those cute little compartments while simultaneously Googling if Cheese Whiz counts as a protein.
Often, it feels like we’re alone in our lunch-packing disasters. But recently, actor Jason Smith reminded us that we’re not. With his wife, fellow actor and lunch-packing genius Lily Johnson, out of town for a week, Smith shared his struggles on Instagram, showcasing the difficulties of preparing balanced meals for kids.
“With @lilyjohnson away this week, lunch duty for Max has fallen to yours truly,” he wrote. “Turns out I’m not the only parent who can #nail the lunchbox game. From top left: half an organic avocado from last night, a whole sweet potato (produce code 94074), pb&j on a bagel (two bites removed, as he prefers), a burnt gluten-free cookie, and one packet of @splenda.”
While this meal is clearly a humorous exaggeration—who can fit a yam in a lunchbox?—it resonated with over 46,000 followers who have faced the pre-school lunch dilemma.
What’s even more entertaining is the parody aspect of Smith’s post compared to Johnson’s immaculate lunchbox creations, which often leave other parents feeling inadequate. Earlier this month, Johnson shared a post about Max’s lunch that included “sautéed sesame salmon, heart-shaped rice, an avocado versus yellow pepper showdown, dark chocolate bites made from coconut sugar, mini harvest bowl salad with goat cheese, and organic strawberries.”
Indeed, “mini harvest bowl salad with goat cheese” sounds fancier than anything most of us have eaten in weeks, but a four-year-old receives this in his Planet Box. We can all relate.
If you want to feel a little worse about your own lunch packing skills, here are a few more examples from Johnson’s impressive school lunches, which included a food bear and raspberry yogurt nestled inside raspberries—who has time for that? Another lunch featured edible flowers, making us feel like we should just hand our kids over to child protective services.
Sure, Johnson’s lunches lack a Splenda packet, but that’s perfectly fine. Each parent has their own strengths, and maybe we’re all a bit more like Jason Smith, facing down a raw yam in the morning and questioning if a Pop-Tart could somehow qualify as a sandwich.
This article was originally published on Sep. 17, 2018.
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Summary
Parenting comes with its fair share of challenges, and packing school lunches is no exception. Jason Smith’s humorous take on his lunch-packing struggles while his wife, Lily Johnson, is away resonates with many parents facing the same dilemmas. Through their contrasting lunch choices, they highlight the various approaches to feeding kids, reminding us that we’re all navigating this chaos together.
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