Monday, March 21, 2011

Interesting Friday morning

Couple of interesting things happened last friday . I volunteered to help in my son's school canteen. He had asked if I would help out because he said he would come over and say hi to me ! And thats what he did ... his class passed by the canteen to go to the assembly hall and he waved to me, pointed me out to his friends. It made my day that he would be so excited to see me working in his school canteen.

Since it was my first time helping out , I learnt a lot about what goes on backstage in the canteen. I have the utmost respect for those who volunteer their time to do this on a regular basis. It is a LOT of work , to say the least.

I helped out with cutting ,slicing, washing veggies. Got all the burgers, patties etc in the oven . Filled up lunch orders in the bags. Got a lot done with the 4 other ladies..I felt great ...till the lunch bell rang. The real work began after the bell rang. Getting the lunches out to the class monitors was nothing compared to the real rush after they ate lunch. I was on my toes, literally . I felt like I was on a reality show ! Yes, watching the cooking shows is starting to play tricks on my mind !!

Anyway, kids thronged at the windows to get snacks , jelly snacks, yogurt babies (!) , frozen animals (!!) and stuff with names that I don't remember. The crowd pleaser is clearly frozen animals... the kids are allowed a maximum of 5 at a time. Each costs 20 cents. I kid you not, they love it !! They are crazy for the frozen animals. Its basically some kind of mild sugary solution frozen in a plastic container - shaped like , yes you guessed it - animals. Check the picture of the sugary culprits below ... Not the best shot, but it gives you an idea.


Yes, my son loves it too . He was supposed to get his 20 cents to the canteen to get his frozen animal. He mentioned earlier in the morning, that he wanted me to attend to him at the window ..:) I just find his requests so adorable ! But, as it turns out, I was at the window and I did get him his animal. He came back for more one more time. And then he came back for one more , this time to get one more for a friend, who joined him, by the way ! Apparently , the kids do this if their mom is at the canteen. I was told by one of the other moms that her daughter showed up with her entourage - for the free stuff !! Free stuff , hah ! Volunteering at the canteen is turning out to be expensive !

Would I do it again ? In a heart beat .

Just to see the look on my son's face when he sees me . Just to see his excitement as he proudly shows off to his friends that his mom is in the canteen. Just to see him come running to get ' free stuff ' from me.
Just to have him ask me after school , how my day was in the canteen , what I did in the canteen , did I put stuff in the oven, what was the stuff I put in the bag , who were the other ladies with me , when I would be back in the canteen ., how did I get into the canteen (!) .

No, I don't look forward to my son's entourage each time. But the positives outweigh the one teeny tiny negative.

Alright I am done with this sappy post, but it was so much fun doing it and getting to know the other lovely women who help running the canteen smoothly. And,  I loved that I made my son's tiny wish come true , that I had to share this.

Stayed tuned for the following post - about the Disco party later that friday evening at his school ..:)


4 comments:

  1. Oh that's so sweet! I remember I was so excited and proud when my mum would help out in the canteen at school a few times a yr.
    It's so nice that he is so excited to see you there, in a few yrs time they wont want to be seen in public with their Mums so we have to make the most of all these special moments now don't we :)
    Jxx

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  2. I don't know how I will handle it when he doesn't want me around ..maybe I'll just read this post and make myself feel better that there was a time, he wanted me around !
    Thanks for commenting Janette.

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  3. good on you! i'm on the canteen committee at our school and volunteers are so important. and the kids love it - i already have a request in from No.1 for November for his birthday!

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  4. wow... request for birthday ? wonder what he'll order from you :) Its great that you are on the committee..so much work happens in the canteen.

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