I had lunch today with my youngest granddaughter. It was a class picnic—one where you pack a lunch and spread a blanket on the grass. I was apprehensive. It’s been a long time since I ate in such an incommodious position. With a hip replacement and a surgically repaired knee, I’m not as agile as I once was.
When there was the fewest number of people looking, I worked my way down onto the blanket. We opened our lunch boxes, that I had packed that morning. I had talked the deli clerk at Straub’s into giving me two empty sandwich boxes after explaining my upcoming lunch on the ground. I think she felt sorry for me.
My first concern had been to fill my granddaughter’s box with food she’d enjoy. After a number of email exchanges with her parents, I made something called a Sunbutter sandwich. It’s like peanut butter only made with sunflower seeds. I threw in some chips, a strawberry yogurt, a few cheese sticks, fruit chunks and a cookie.
As it turned out, my granddaughter ate the yogurt and cheese sticks and nibbled around the edges of the sandwich. Then she skipped off to play, leaving me to ponder how to get back on my feet again. I didn’t want to look like a beached manatee flopping along the seashore. It’s surprising what you can do when you’re in a public place, trying to put your “best foot forward,” so to speak. I took a deep breath, faked an agile ascent, and hobbled off, feeling quite pleased.
Even so, I think I need more practice before trying lunch on the ground again.
