The Day I Didn't Bring Home The Bacon

I packed my lunch quickly that morning. I had prepared most of it the night before knowing all I needed to do was to place it in my lunch bag before heading to work. I opened the refrigerator door to pull out the items I had readied. Just before closing the door, I noticed a zip-lock bag, with something tasty inside, just sitting there all by itself. On a whim, I snatched it then placed it into my lunch bag.

It proved to be a busy day at work. There was an endless string of email requests, frequent phone calls and a few in-person encounters that kept me hopping. I did stop at lunchtime though to open my lunch bag and eat my meal. During that time though, other work related issues surfaced. I dug in, determined to complete all I had before me prior to day’s end.

A few hours later, I was ready to call it a day. I shut down my computer, turned off the lights then reached for my lunch bag. Usually, that lunch bag is empty at this time of day. This particular day, three items remained. I quickly looked inside taking notes that these three items would be a good start on the next day’s lunch. It was time to go so I picked up my coat then left in the direction of Hannah’s school.

Minutes later at Hannah’s school, I locate her on the playground with friends. She rushes to me nearly tackling me from the speed and force of her hug. As we check out, Hannah asks one of the playground monitors if snacks were about to be served. This lady wasn’t certain so she directed us to another monitor. This second monitor delivered the sad news to Hannah that it was not yet snack time.

Hannah was disappointed. She said she was hungry. I could relate as late afternoon is one of my four or five favorite times of the day to eat, well, almost anything. Attempting to allay her concerns, I told her I had an apple in my lunch bag. Once we got to the car, it was all hers if she wanted it. She wasn’t interested.

We walked further down the hall in order to retrieve her backpack. I then mentioned a small cup of applesauce that was in my lunch bag. I told Hannah I didn’t have a spoon to eat it with but we might be able to locate one in the glove compartment. Again, she was not interested.

I knew I had one other item in my lunch bag. Selfishly, I wasn’t ready to acknowledge it yet. I tried one other tactic. I mentioned to Hannah that the ride home wouldn’t take too long. I reasoned that by the time we got home, I could round up some sort of snack that would hold her over until supper later in the evening. No interest from Hannah. She was hungry then and wanted something. Hannah grew more cranky as I sensed I was running out of options.

I knew I had to make her aware there was one other item in the bag. The catch though was I really wanted that one other item badly as well. I couldn’t believe when I packed it in my bag on that early morning whim that I would not have taken a few minutes during the day to empty that bag so I could shove it’s contents into my mouth. I realized I had that opportunity but that the moment to act on it was gone. I knew what I had to do.

As we approached our car, I told Hannah I had one other item in my lunch bag. She asked what it was so I replied I would show it to her. After she was secured in her seat I was able to unzip my lunch bag. I pulled out the apple then the applesauce just to see if the visual appeal of those two items would win over Hannah. Again, she was not interested. I reached back into the bag locating the zip-lock bag then pulled it out in plain view. Through the clear bag were two beautifully cooked pieces of bacon. Hannah was thrilled so I handed the bag over to her.

Full disclosure: I love bacon. I love to smell it cooking. I love to eat it. I love it on salad, sandwiches and have even tried it with chocolate and on doughnuts. It is the best part of bacon and eggs. It reigns supreme over lettuce and tomato. It was to be an in-between snack on this day when things slowed enough for me to allow my stomach to tell my brain I needed a bit of the pig to make things good again. But, not today.

As we rode toward home, Hannah savored every little bit of those two strips of bacon. It seemed like it took her a good twenty minutes to eat those two thin slices of deliciousness. She even told me how she was eating the bacon slowly so she could enjoy it longer. The grumpy girl had become a happy passenger on the ride home.

She did let me have one bite of the bacon. It was good. Isn’t bacon always good though? Anyway, as much as I enjoy bacon, I enjoy more the moments like the ones she and I shared. I may not have brought home the bacon on this one day but I brought home a couple memories that will stick with us like a pig stuck in the mud.