Book Club: School Lunches and Polaroids

I remember the School Lunch chapter from the very first time I read this book. I didn’t get it. Maybe I still don’t. Lamott says school lunches are full of the same longings and dynamics and anxieties for everyone, even if the school setting is different.

Well, maybe it’s an East Coast/West Coast thing, but the experiences she writes about – what was acceptable (bologna, pb&J) mattered and you were ostracized for bringing smelly, wrong things (which often happened if your father made your sandwich)—those didn’t bring any sense of recognition for me. I remember basically zero about elementary school lunch period.

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Starting the Year Off Lighter

This past week I started the Lighten Your Load, Lighten Your Life Challenge. It’s a personal challenge to remove 5 things from my life every day of 2024.

I’ve invited others to join me (and pick their own number). Together in a private Facebook group we are sharing ideas, support, and a few laughs, plus offering accountability with optional daily reports of how we’ve lightened our loads.

When I set out to do this, I expected maybe a handful of my friends might join me, and even made two friends to promise they would join, so I wouldn’t look pathetic if someone I didn’t know decided to join.

To my happy surprise, lots of people have joined the group and the number grows every day (you can join us too! Click here to read the original post and to find the link to our group). It’s been fun and inspiring to see what everyone’s unloading, plus I’ve already gotten a ton of great tips (did you know that Smartwool has a sock recycling program?).

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